Disneyland Banning Disposable Straws

ANAHEIM, CA — If you visit Disneyland parks, you'll notice that the use of plastic straws will soon be a thing of the past. According to Disney officials, the Disneyland Resort announced they will not use plastic straws and stirrers at all of its theme parks and businesses globally as of midway next year.

The plastic footprint left by attendees of the park disposing of drink detritus in receptacles is vast, according to a park spokesperson. The company estimated that merely doing away with plastic straws and stirsticks would lead to a reduction of about 175 million straws and 13 million stirrers annually.

The announcements comes after Starbucks announced earlier this month it would nix plastic straws.

Disney is working on a plan to offer "refillable in-room amenities in our hotels and on our cruise ships, reducing plastics in guest rooms by 80 percent."

In addition, Disney pledges to "reduce the number of plastic shopping bags in our owned and operated parks and on our cruise line, offering guests the option to purchase reusable bags at a nominal price."

Disney also will "complete our work to eliminate polystyrene cups across our global owned and operated businesses."

The moves are "part of our long-term effort to reduce single-use plastics, and we will continue recycling and responsibly disposing single-use waste that cannot be eliminated."

Bob Chapek, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products, said the plan to ditch straws and other plastics "are meaningful steps in our long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship. These new global efforts help reduce our environmental footprint and advance our long- term sustainability goals."

Disney reduced its net greenhouse gas emissions by 41 percent last year and diverted close to 50 percent of waste from landfills and incineration last year, officials said.

Ashley Ludwig, Patch Staff Photo