VANCOUVER—Disability advocates are concerned city council’s unanimous approval of a plan to get rid of single-use, disposable items in Vancouver by 2020 could negatively affect people with dexterity issues.

Jane Dyson, executive director of Disability Alliance B.C., told StarMetro her organization recognizes the environmental impact plastic items have on the environment.

But a wholesale ban on plastic straws could leave people with disabilities unable to enjoy drinks outside the home, she said, especially if they run out of their own supply of straws, or failed to bring their own supply with them.

“I’m hoping a sensible compromise could be implemented where the default is to not provide straws,” Dyson said in an earlier interview, “but if a person with disability ask for straws, they could be provided with one.”

The ban on plastic straws would come into effect on Nov. 1, 2019, as part of the single-use item reduction strategy.

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But city staff said they will consult concerned groups before the extent of the ban goes to a future vote. Roughly 57 million plastic straws are tossed into the garbage every day in Canada, according to city statistics.

Cathy Browne, co-chair of the city’s People with Disabilities Advisory Committee (PDAC), told StarMetro she wished to see Vancouver’s use of plastics reduced by leaps and bounds.

She argued that should not happen at the expense of people with disabilities being able to eat and drink at restaurants and cafes.

Browne said asking people who could not pick up or grasp a glass to carry a plastic straw with them wherever they went could be an additional cost that would unfairly target vulnerable communities.

“Disabled people and seniors are among the poorest people in the city,” she said, adding she hoped city council would consult with the people she represented more comprehensively before considering an outright prohibition on straws.

A ban on straws would amount to an exclusion of people with disabilities from dining establishments across the city, Laura Mackenrot, vice-chair of the city committee, told StarMetro on Wednesday.

“That’s discrimination as far as I’m concerned,” said Mackenrot, who is blind and was born with arthritis. Her arthritis leaves her unable to raise a glass, making straws a necessary tool for the consumption of liquids.

She said straws, for people like herself, are not a privilege, but rather a vital utensil.

“Would you take away a fork?” she asked. “Would you take away a knife or a spoon?”

Aaron Leung, chair of the city’s Children, Youth and Families Advisory Committee, told city council that body — whose members range from ages seven to 75 — had questions about how a straw ban might affect older and younger Vancouverites.

“I echo the concerns of the PDAC,” he said, pointing to difficulty many seniors had with grasping heavy objects like a glass.

Representatives from Canadian plastics manufacturers and food service businesses also voiced concern about a ban on single-use items, though their unease centred primarily around the economic impact a plastics prohibition might have on retailers and manufacturers.

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While council voted in principle to prohibit plastic straws, city staff were directed to consult with community groups, businesses and civic agencies on how to responsibly roll out the ban ahead of a final council vote, to be held some time next year.

But for Mackenrot, there is another solution that’s both simple and environmentally friendly.

“What we’re asking is you have a couple of packages on hand,” she said. “For those that really need it.”

With files from Wanyee Li

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