Disney eliminating plastic straws

[Betty Rohrer]

Are they refusing the reusable hard plastic straws, like those that come in some of the Starbucks tumblers? (the kind you don't throw away)

Like these

We bring those to use in our Resort mugs, and I take my Resort mug everywhere I go at WDW (in the cupholder on Angus) so I will be curious to find out if that has changed. Historically, AK has allowed us to bring those kind of straws into the park.

can not say for sure but they took the straw that came with a sippy cup that came out of the cup. they were reusable. you are adults this was a child so that could be the difference

 

[Disneylvr]

We have always brought the hard plastic straws to AK for our daughter, even the toddler size ones when she was younger. They have never been confiscated at bag check.

 

[Disneylvr]

We have always brought the hard plastic straws to AK for our daughter, even the toddler size ones when she was younger. They have never been confiscated at bag check.

 

[cmwade77]

Cups and lids have always existed. Sippy lids eliminate the style of plastic item used by 50%. Not the actual amount of plastic, but every bit helps.

No, the report I saw accounted for the amount of plastic used in the old lid, the extra plastic needed for the new design is more than that which was in the straws. This was due in part to the fact that the new lid is thicker.

Now based on all that I have read, I think this is a stop gap measure, as they eventually want to use compostable material instead of the plastic, my guess is they are trying to get the design right first, which they are still a long way off from for those that want to drink their coffee and other drinks while driving that way the equipment won't have to be remade for each redesign, they will get it right the first time because my understanding is the equipment to mold compostable materials is currently more expensive to modify or remake than it is for plastic.

So, this may indeed be a case of baby steps, but it is funny that the new lids actually 8ncrease plastic consumption instead of decreasing it.

 

[cmwade77]

It's fine, it really is I was just poking fun... especially because they are moving to mostly do things that will save them money (or maybe be a wash) AND be good for the environment..but if it's being green at a cost to them? They don't seem to be moving on that very much lol. I get it, a 7 seat EV is hard to come by and a fleet of model X's would wipe out the profit and/or make the price to high to swallow.

Also yes to those of you pointing out they aren't getting rid of all bags, I read that some bags will still be around but the way it's worded leaves alot of possibilities open, giving you the option to buy a resusable bag doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to get a plastic one..it just means you can buy a resusable one...we'll see.

Actually, there are 7 seater EVs that could he used, they are mostly only available commercially, but given it is Disney they could have bought them. There are also EV busses that do about 150 miles to a charge, they charge from empty to full in as alittle as 4 hours and can be configured to charge wirelessly at all stops increasing the daily range to over 275 miles. I know these exist because our city has been purchasing them.

So, why isn't Disney doing this? It would be far more environmentally friendly with no real downsides to the guests.

 

[cmwade77]

be prepared for them to be refused at Animal Kingdom at bag check. they will even take the straw from juice boxes. plastic straws not allowed in the park so you could loose all 100 straws as you will be forced to throw out or not come into park. this included a removable straw from a sippy cup which we had to throw away

Which is why you would only bring 4 or 5 along with the packaging with you to Animal Kingdom, not the entire box. That way if you did have to throw them out, no big deal.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Actually, there are 7 seater EVs that could he used, they are mostly only available commercially, but given it is Disney they could have bought them. There are also EV busses that do about 150 miles to a charge, they charge from empty to full in as alittle as 4 hours and can be configured to charge wirelessly at all stops increasing the daily range to over 275 miles. I know these exist because our city has been purchasing them.

So, why isn't Disney doing this? It would be far more environmentally friendly with no real downsides to the guests.

Because Disney has a relationship with GM and I bet GM gave them an awesome discount on the Traverse’s knowing that visitors who like them might go home and buy one.

 

[cmwade77]

Because Disney has a relationship with GM and I bet GM gave them an awesome discount on the Traverse’s knowing that visitors who like them might go home and buy one.

Perhaps, but my point is that when they need to buy new busses, they could be buying EV and they have bought new busses since these came out about 5 years ago. They could have worked with GM to get EVs that fir their needs.

 

[Hoodie]

be prepared for them to be refused at Animal Kingdom at bag check. they will even take the straw from juice boxes. plastic straws not allowed in the park so you could loose all 100 straws as you will be forced to throw out or not come into park. this included a removable straw from a sippy cup which we had to throw away

That's interesting. We've gone through multiple times with the shelf stable milk - straw attached - with no issues. Pretty much every time we've gone actually.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

That's interesting. We've gone through multiple times with the shelf stable milk - straw attached - with no issues. Pretty much every time we've gone actually.

that trip they also took straw from a juice box besides the straw from toddler's sippy cup. and other trips I have seen them take straws from juice boxes from other guests while we were behind in line. guess it depends on who you get checking

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Which is why you would only bring 4 or 5 along with the packaging with you to Animal Kingdom, not the entire box. That way if you did have to throw them out, no big deal.

had whole pack because we had 4 kids not just one kid

 

[OurBigTrip]

No problem - with the exception of AK, we’ll just bring our own plastic straws.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Perhaps, but my point is that when they need to buy new busses, they could be buying EV and they have bought new busses since these came out about 5 years ago. They could have worked with GM to get EVs that fir their needs.

You obviously have no idea what it takes to engineer a new vehicle, especially one with newer technology like running off electricity only. It takes YEARS to develop and Disney wanted to get something out to compete with Lyft and Uber NOW. And Disney busses do not operate under the same conditions as city busses. They have to get up to higher speeds faster with less stops. GM isn’t going to spend hundreds of millions to produce a vehicle for Disney’s specialized needs with a quick turnaround time. Not to mention the challenges associated with electric vehicle technology, such as figuring out how to get the materials for the batteries without destroying the planet even more than gasoline production already does.

 

[DisneyOma]

You know electric vehicles aren't all that - you've got to produce the electricity from some fuel source. And each time you change an energy source, you lose some of the energy to heat, etc.

 

[cmwade77]

You obviously have no idea what it takes to engineer a new vehicle, especially one with newer technology like running off electricity only. It takes YEARS to develop and Disney wanted to get something out to compete with Lyft and Uber NOW. And Disney busses do not operate under the same conditions as city busses. They have to get up to higher speeds faster with less stops. GM isn’t going to spend hundreds of millions to produce a vehicle for Disney’s specialized needs with a quick turnaround time. Not to mention the challenges associated with electric vehicle technology, such as figuring out how to get the materials for the batteries without destroying the planet even more than gasoline production already does.

But they don't have to engineer a whole new vehicle, these vehicles are already readily available for commercial use, such as Taxis, shuttles, etc. GM has these vehicles available, that is my point, no engineering efforts are needed here. I know because I have seen them in use out here in California.

As for buses getting up to higher speeds with fewer stops, all the more reason to go all electric, seriously the electric buses can go from 0 to 60 in about half the time it takes a gas bus and apparently I was wrong about the range, they now have ones with a 250 mile range without any charging during the day and that is assuming 60% freeway speeds of 70 MPH. Here is one example of a bus (a couple years old now, so they probably have even better ranges available): https://insideevs.com/byd-delivers-first-60-foot-electric-bus-in-us-featuring-275-miles-range/

And that is a 60 foot bus.

As for getting the resources they need for the batteries, that has already been figured out thanks to the likes of Nissan and others and there continues to be further improvements, we will soon see graphene batteries that basically take very little to nothing in terms of resources to produce, can charge at far more rapid rates and have little to no degradation over time.

Yes, in the beginning, it was more damaging, but much like has been mentioned, these were baby steps that had to be taken to get to where we are today, which have EVs being much greener than gas alternatives. Additionally, the used batteries will be recycled into other products, such as backup batteries for home solar systems, batteries for charging stations that will charge during off peak times and then use that electricity during peak times, etc. for about 50 to 75 years total life, including the 10 year/100,000 mile run in the vehicle itself, by which time we will definitely have better options for disposing of the batteries, this is with current technology, in another 5 to 10 years, we will be in an even better place.

This is actually one subject I do know a lot more about than you might think and I do know that Disney World could use EV buses, they have been tested quite well in a large variety of settings.

EVs currently are and will be going forward the cleanest transportation option, especially when powered by solar power. They are even cleaner than CNG or fuel cell vehicles, considering the amount of fossil fuels it takes to produce either CNG or Hydrogen for the fuel cells, these are far dirtier options than gasoline vehicles at present. Again though, this is being worked on and has the promise to be much cleaner in the long run, but nothing will be as clean as being able to run from pure solar energy, especially once graphene batteries make it mainstream and who knows, there may be an even better alternative to these batteries out there, but at present it works well.

 

[cmwade77]

You know electric vehicles aren't all that - you've got to produce the electricity from some fuel source. And each time you change an energy source, you lose some of the energy to heat, etc.

Did you know, it takes the same amount of electricity to produce a single gallon of gas from start to being in your gas tank as it does to power a modern EV for about 45 miles? For a gas car, you use electricity to pump the oil out of the ground, gas to move the oil from the drill site to the refinery (electricity had to be used to produce that gasoline as well), electricity to refine it into gasoline, gas (again requires electricity) to transport it form the refinery to the gas station, electricity to run the station, electricity to pump the gas into your vehicle. This doesn't even factor in the fact that you have to have periodic oil changes in a gasoline vehicle and that there are fossil fuels being burned. These are the dirty little secrets that the oil companies are trying so very hard to hide from you.

Now, as I said before, if the electricity is generated from Solar, it is about as clean as you can get and the vast majority of people who drive EVs charge from solar whenever humanly possible, not from the grid.

Now, are EVs perfect? No, as I said there is room for improvement, with new battery tech, etc., but there are and will remain the cleanest form of powered transportation there is for the foreseeable future.

 

[cmwade77]

had whole pack because we had 4 kids not just one kid

I would suggest packing 4 or 5 per child, then, just in case.

 

[blondietink]

A family friend is working for a company in California that is developing a solar battery in sheets as thin as place mats that will go on the top of your car to continuously charge the battery. Disney has enough space that they could have a huge solar farm on their property, on the top of their hotels, covering their parking lots, etc.

 

[cmwade77]

A family friend is working for a company in California that is developing a solar battery in sheets as thin as place mats that will go on the top of your car to continuously charge the battery. Disney has enough space that they could have a huge solar farm on their property, on the top of their hotels, covering their parking lots, etc.

Exactly, there are also lightwieght bifacial solar panels that could be used on the roofs of the busses and since the roofs are reflective they would produce quite a bit of power as well.

The tech for EVs is already very green, but will 9nly get greener as time marches on.

 

[maxiesmom]

A family friend is working for a company in California that is developing a solar battery in sheets as thin as place mats that will go on the top of your car to continuously charge the battery. Disney has enough space that they could have a huge solar farm on their property, on the top of their hotels, covering their parking lots, etc.

I'm kind of curious as to how that all works with making things as hurricane proof as possible. Is there a way to tie them off so that they are one with the building?