Disney to eliminate plastic straws, hotel in-room plastics and plastic shopping bags

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

When are the sporks coming then you can eliminate a 1/3 of plastic silverware?

I'd be happy with sports.

 

[AustinTink]

This is great, but I hope it means the hotels will start putting fresh glasses in the room for guests. I stopped using the glassware in hotel rooms after reading the housekeeping staff just wipes them down with furniture polish and used rags instead of replacing them. I guess I'll just bring a tumbler from home.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yes hence why I said I will either purchase and send to my resort or will only pur have at my resort so I cant take it directly to my room and apparently people have a problem with my opinion.

We - at least I - took issue with the repeated, "they better..." threats.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Isn't soap self cleaning? what would need to be sanitized? I am not a germaphobe, so the refillable shampoo and body wash is fine with me. It is in fact preferable to the tiny bottles, imo, and I have seen it in use in several places over the last few years. It saves so much money and waste. I would never use a glass in a hotel though, and I think drinks you buy to carry around need a lid. Paper straws are fine with me.

I never understood the push back either. I just got back from a conference and my hotel had wall mounted dispensers of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. It was a complete non-issue.

Yeah, I dont see anything unsanitary about wall mounted dispensers. I stay in abut 40 hotels a year and I'd guess at least half have gone to this, I never thought much about them, other than liking that no little bottle of shampoo is easily knocked off the shelf and dropped only to have to be fished out from by my feet anymore.

Yep they better.
Or I won't purchase drinks or shop or use the cups. Dont think I won't.
I'll still go just won't do those things so yep that's my opinion on it no lie.
Now you can all move on with your own opinions that I have not judged you for.

That's fine---they'll make the revenue u from people like me who are more likely to do a bit of shopping or buy a drink if I don't have to argue my way out of getting extra, unneeded plastic.

 

[Allison]

The article doesn't actually say they are eliminating plastic shopping bags. It says they plan to eliminate plastic straws and stirrers and REDUCE the number of plastic shopping bags.

 

[jrmasm]

The article doesn't actually say they are eliminating plastic shopping bags. It says they plan to eliminate plastic straws and stirrers and REDUCE the number of plastic shopping bags.

Damn, that’s not as fun.

 

[CarolAnn856]

The article doesn't actually say they are eliminating plastic shopping bags. It says they plan to eliminate plastic straws and stirrers and REDUCE the number of plastic shopping bags.

My guess is that that if people don't have a reusable bag, they will have the option of buying a plastic bag for a small fee or a reusable bag for slightly more. In France a few years ago, that's what happened at the grocery stores. A plastic bag was something like .05 Euros, and the reusable was about 1 Euro. We bought several of the reusable bags and I still use them 4 years later.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'm for the changes.

Bags - I already live in a place that eliminated plastic grocery bags. I'm very used to bringing my own, and would actually love to add a couple of Disney ones to my collection!

Straws - I'm not really a fan of the paper ones, but I also have no problem just drinking out of a cup! I've never avoided AK over the straw issue, and I certainly won't start now.

Toiletries - Though I have previously enjoyed bringing home the little bottles in order to have one more shower with "that Disney smell" I've also felt bad about all that waste. I really don't think I'll have a problem adjusting to dispensers.

 

[maxiesmom]

If Disney truly cared about reducing plastic, they'd stop selling bottled water. But that would cut into their profits, so that won't happen. This is nothing but a way for them to cut costs and pretend like they care about being "green".

Baby steps. Small steps are better than no steps. There is no possible way for any company to go completely green all at once.

 

[maxiesmom]

Paper straws are disgusting.

I agree with you. They are good for a few sips then they are mush. I just drink from the cup at that point. But if someone truly wants a straw it is easy enough to purchase reusable ones.

 

[DisLiss]

I am imagine a bunch of crafty people are currently dreaming up ideas for Disney-inspired waterproof reusable shopping bags that they can sell via Etsy. And since I can barely sew a button back on, I'll be buying them!

 

[DisLiss]

I can also see Disney making a mint off of all sorts of cute, ever-changing, collectible reusable shopping bags. They'll be rare ones and exclusive ones, and ones you can only get on certain days or certain events or at certain stores. People will go nuts over them and buy more than they even need.

 

[deedeezee]

I can also see Disney making a mint off of all sorts of cute, ever-changing, collectible reusable shopping bags. They'll be rare ones and exclusive ones, and ones you can only get on certain days or certain events or at certain stores. People will go nuts over them and buy more than they even need.

I was just thinking this! I love reusable shopping bags, and I have a ton. I would still buy some Disney ones each time I went.

 

[loves to dive]

Doesn't bother me.

Paper straws can be a pain to use but a lot of local places around here have been using them for years so it's not big deal.
I actually have wall mounted shampoo, conditioner and body wash dispensers in my home, I was getting tired of the clutter of bottles and we were testing them for when we buy our RV. I prefer them because I can't read without my glasses so had to place all the little bottles in different places in the shower so I wouldn't get them confused so that helps me.
I live on the edge and actually use the real glasses and cups in hotel rooms all the time. I rinse them out and that's that.
I usually have all my purchases sent back to my room since I don't like walking around with bags any way, I don't carry a bag of any kind into the parks so if I have to pay a little extra for a bag to get sent back to my room, I'm ok with that. The only time I don't send them back is if it's the last day and they won't and more often then not I check the app and if I can buy it on line, I have it sent to my house. If I can't, if I go to more than one shop, I always ask them to put my purchases in the bag I already have since I'm lazy and don't like to carry around a lot of bags.
We have always complained that they have recycling cans sitting around for cans and glass bottles but not for plastic bottles, which always struck us as strange considering how many water bottles they sell. I hate throwing mine away and will just carry it around until I get back to the room since most of the rooms have a can for plastic bottles.
As a diver, I can't tell you how many fish I've chased to get strange things out of their mouths and how many times we have come up from dives with our pockets full of cans and plastic can holders that we have picked up off the bottom of the ocean. We always have a knife with us and spend a lot of time cutting fishing line off coral and winding it up and putting it in our pockets as well, fish get caught in it. We are very conscious of what goes in the ocean and trying to keep them clean, one time I had a fish swipe the hair band off the bottom of my braid, I chased that fish for a good half hour to get it back so he wouldn't swallow it.
I get made fun of around my house because I re-use my ziplock bags a number of times, I just rinse them and turn them inside out to dry. I started doing it years ago when money was tight and just got in the habit because it seemed silly to put a sandwich in one and then throw it away when all it had in it was crumbs. I will admit we don't take our own bags to the grocery store but I re-use the grocery plastic bags to take my lunch to work and to pick up dog poop when walking my dog. There is always a place at our store to put used bags into and we take the old ones that don't get used back with us and put them in the bin.

 

[mnrose]

Doesn't bother me.


I live on the edge and actually use the real glasses and cups in hotel rooms all the time. I rinse them out and that's that.

Me too. I don't understand the hysteria around the glasses in the room. Yes, I've seen the reports. I wash them, with a bit of soap and hot water, and then I use them. No big deal at all. Just as clean as the ones in my house. Shrug. But, I live on the edge everywhere. I actually PREFER the large "in shower" dispensers to those little bottles. Much easier and far less waste all around. And (gasp) I've purchased and used "second hand" mattresses. I'm a rebel that's for sure.

 

[NHdisneylover]

My company recently made a big switch to only using commercially compostable plates and silverware in the onsite cafeteria. The only problem is what commercially compostable means. It does not mean that you can throw it in a landfill and it will perform any better then traditional plastic silverware. In fact once sealed into a landfill a commercially compostable fork and a traditional plastic fork both remain in their current state forever.

Hmmmm, unlike at your company is doing, it sounds like the listed changes for Disney will either reduce overall condumpconsof disposable product or use far more compostable items in place of any sort of plastic, which truly IS a step in the right direction.

It's a shame you work for a company doing lip service to protecting the environment, while actually not really helping at all.
DH works at the headquarters for his company. There are about three thousand people on that campus. I've joined him for lunch in the canteen many times. Real plates, glassware, cutlery... The o my disposable items I can think of in there are napkins and ketchup and mayo packets. It's the same at the on site canteens for most of the company's plants he visits.
They've also installed dishwashers at coffee stations in the offices and provide real cups, water glasses and a filter on the sink, spoons to mix on sugar or cream, etc
Maybe you can press your company to make actually helpful changes?
I'd love to see Disney eventually move away from dongle use plates, cutlery, cups etc all together. Wash and re use love me they do on the ships maybe with a deposit system like places such as Playmobil Funpark use.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Deleted double post

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

It would be nice to have a more accurate time when this is going to happen. I'm spending a day shopping at DS in September, and would like to know whether I need to bring my own bag or not.

They're looking to reduce plastic bags in parks -- not eliminate: "Plans also call for Disney to reduce the number of plastic shopping bags in owned and operated parks and on Disney cruise line, offering guests the option to purchase reusable bags at a nominal price."

I have no intention of carrying around reusable bags on my vacation. It's not practical particularly with resort pickup and the like.

And I'll just mention this... perspective is important when we evaluate the actual anticipated impact of any of these moves (US is at 1.3% of the total):

https://www.statista.com/chart/12211/the-countries-polluting-the-oceans-the-most/

 

[ronandannette]

Great point! In fact, from what I understand that represents a huge portion of what fills the landfills. Not just water bottles....soft drinks, Powerade, juices, etc.

During my childhood 40 years ago beverage containers were all made out of glass. There was a “deposit” charged on them which was refunded when they were returned to a facility. They were sterilized and refilled probably countless times over. At the end of its useful life as a container glass can be repurposed or recycled. Why couldn’t that still work today?

 

[Kellykins1218]

If Disney truly cared about reducing plastic, they'd stop selling bottled water. But that would cut into their profits, so that won't happen. This is nothing but a way for them to cut costs and pretend like they care about being "green".