The Great Straw Debate Update

Some of you were worried that banning plastic straws was going to have an impact on Disabled people who use them to drink independently. It was felt that maybe we could do our bit for the environment in other ways, and here at Merton CIL we've bought glasses instead of plastic cups for our water. But, we still provide bendy plastic straws for anyone who needs them! 

We also had some very good news, because after the last newsletter, we contacted the All England Lawn Tennis Club about their plans to ban plastic straws from Wimbledon Championships this year, and replace them with paper straws. We told them that some Disabled People do not find paper straws accessible because they melt in hot drinks! 

We received a delightful response from Matt Crowcour, Head of Championships Operations at AELTC. He told us:

- They have sourced biodegradable plastic straws that are accessible for Disabled People and will have these available

- When we explained that asking for a plastic straw might create issues, they have just agreed to put in discrete signage to make them available

- They have informed all their catering staff who are now aware of the issue

- They will include information about accessible straws in their easy read and access guides going forward next year

- They thanked us for writing to them to highlight the issue!

Wow! Next steps will be to get ourselves some of those biodegradable straws, and to talk to other organisations thinking of banning straws!