News
A prominent figure in the disability sector has called out a café, after experiencing backlash from an employee for using their own straw in a public venue.
Lawyer, fashion designer and disability advocate, Carol Taylor, has been a quadriplegic for the last 25 years. She says it's a medical requirement for her to consume three litres of water each day.
“Everything must be drunk through a straw. I find it challenging to take medication with a straw that doesn't have a bend…If you're lying in almost flat and need to take medication, you can't reposition a glass straw, but you can reposition a plastic one.”
The disability advocate recalls an instance in which a young waitress tried to prevent her from using her own straw in a public cafe.
I was sitting with a group of people. She would've seen that I was in a wheelchair, but you can't always tell that my hands are paralysed.
Carol Taylor
“They [The disability community] certainly shouldn't have Gen Z challenging their patrons that bring their own plastic straws. I was very quick instance to educate that young lady. I was very pleasant about it, but she was very unaware of the importance of plastic straws for people with disability.”
The lawyer believes there should be an exemption for people with disabilities, and that the onus should be on venues to accommodate and provide equal access to drinks in the same way they provide equal access to bathrooms.
“I think it was a bit of a knee jerk reaction to ban plastic straws because…people with disability depend on them.”
According to National Geographic, plastic straws are estimated to constitute just 0.025% of the total plastic waste that flows into the ocean, compared to the estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic that enters the marine environment every year.
If you consider how many times an able-bodied person would reach for a straw in their week, then consider how often a person with disability [reaches for one], I think it's been a gross overreaction and a distraction to the real issue of pollution in our oceans.
Carol Taylor
The lawyer claims many alternatives such as paper, metal, glass, and bamboo straws may seem feasible, but for people with disability, these materials pose a different kind of risk.
“For people that don't have the mobility, having a straw that can bend…there's so much benefit to be had from that,” Ms Taylor explains. “I can't drink my coffee through a paper straw and metal straws are dangerous. I use glass straws, but I've broken them. I don't have feeling in my arm and I have cut myself.”
However, there has been some positive movement recently, with the availability of a new kind of alternative to the plastic straw.
It’s a foldable metal straw with a bendy, replaceable silicone tip.
According to the Stretch Me Co, a startup based in Sydney founded by Diana Gligorov, the straw was created “out of disgust for boring, unpalatable 'eco options'.”
In a statement on their website, they claim the straw “makes hydration fun and fashionable by glamourising reusables with cheeky, main character energy that feel like your favourite party trick.”
As Ms Taylor, she continues her hunt to find an acceptable alternative.
I have not found any alternative that gives me the same freedom…as the good old plastic straw.
Carol Taylor