Plastic straws

and the banning thereof have been in the news here too.
There is something I would like to say on this issue, something you may not have thought about.
Let me begin by saying that I am very conscious of the dangers of plastic to the environment, to wildlife and more. It worries me. I would like to see all plastic recycled and made use of in environmentally friendly ways. 
I also know that is not going to happen. A lot more could be done. How many unemployed people with no qualifications could be employed to collect plastic waste and trained in the technology of recycling it into road surfaces, garden furniture, building materials and the like? 
     "It can't be done Cat!" 
I have been told this impatiently by people who "know" about these things. Am I not allowed to dream that it might be done? If I can think of it as part of the solution then can't someone, somewhere turn it into reality?
But there is another problem entirely with a ban on plastic straws. There are people who depend on them. 
I don't mean the normal person who buys an "iced coffee" in a container and uses a straw with it.  I don't mean normal people poking a red, green, blue or black straw into a soft drink bottle or container and using it.
I mean people with disabilities who rely on straws to be able to drink at all or people like me who have a problem holding a glass and bringing it to my mouth.  
My good friend J.... went out for a rare coffee with friends the other day. It meant putting his wheelchair into his mate's van and manhandling him in. It's an effort for all concerned but one of his gang was having a small celebratory moment and wanted J... there because J... has mentored him through the study process.
They went off to a wheelchair accessible place in the city. They even managed to get an access park not too far away. All was going well.
Then they went in and ordered coffee...and discovered there were no straws. The owner of the venue had ceased stocking them for "environmental" reasons.  J...needs a straw to be able to drink. He can't hold anything. At the same time he is a highly intelligent man who does not want someone else to feed him in public thank you very much.
Now to be fair to the owner when the situation was explained to him he sent someone off to get a straw from a nearby business. He also apologised and said he would keep a packet on the premises for people who need them. 
J.... has plenty of sense and good manners and he took it well but we are both acutely aware that this is a problem. What seems like a good idea has had unexpected consequences. 
Yesterday another straw dependent friend sent me a link which I, unusually for me, posted on the internet. It added to my concerns about the lack of plastic straws in some venues.  The article mentioned alternatives to plastic straws. Ah yes, glass, bamboo, and paper of course. 
     "I can't use those Cat!" 
No, he can't. He can't speak at all. Put something between his teeth and he grips it so hard it is as if it is in a vice. He would break glass, crush bamboo and paper is useless. He has enough problems with plastic. 
I am not happy about the idea of glass. It seems to me there are safety issues for a start. Would glass straws just get thrown away too? Bamboo might work...and there might be other natural fibres that would work. The problem is that, for now, they are not commonly available and the way they are made needs considerable improvement.  Paper? Paper has two  problems, one is that it is generally covered in some sort of wax (or even plastic) and this tends to melt in anything hot and the straw quickly becomes a soggy mess. The other is that paper is not exactly the strongest material in the world and, for some people, it simply doesn't work.
Yes of course some of us carry straws with us. J... usually does but the outing was arranged at the last moment and they were going to a venue which sells a wide variety of hot and cold drinks. It was reasonable to expect there would be a straw available.
So what seems like a sensible idea is already having unexpected consequences for a small number of people. 
And what if they stop making plastic straws?
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