Should the city of Chicago ban plastic straws???? pic.twitter.com/UfndjShvjF

— elizabeth (@elizpingree) November 6, 2018

“Yes/Sí” is how a majority (about 55%) of voting Chicagoans answered the above ballot question during last week’s midterm elections. Now, Chicago’s City Council could craft an ordinance that would restrict or prohibit businesses from providing patrons with single-use plastic straws within the limits of the Windy City.

Should such a ban occur, it would open the door for promotional products distributors to step up sales of reusable straws in the nation’s third most populated city. The ban, coming in a city on the national stage like Chicago, could encourage a greater number of smaller cities and towns around the United States to institute similar measures.

While restrictions and bans on plastic straws are intended to reduce the amount of plastic waste polluting the environment, the measures have received criticism from advocates for people with disabilities. The advocates say that individuals that struggle with impaired arm motion and mouth control require straws to drink. “It’s very frustrating that this was even put on the ballot without any consultation with us,” Adam Ballard of Access Living, a Chicago advocacy organization for people with disabilities, told the Chicago Sun-Times.

What's the status of the plastic straw ban in Chicago? It discriminates against the disabled and ill and is wrong. But I think it passed????

— Abby Schmeling (@aschmels) November 7, 2018

Chicago voted to ban plastic straws yesterday. This ban will hurt people with disabilities far more than it will help with environmental problems.

Remember, only a handful of companies are responsible for two-thirds of global warming, not individuals.https://t.co/8QnHHmS6Dk

— Ingrid Roettgen will punch a Nazi 🌈🌈🌈 (@IngridRoettgen) November 7, 2018

Given such perspectives, it’s clear there is an immediate tangible need for straws even if single-use plastic straws are banned. Again, promo distributors could step in and provide logoed reusable straws, thereby helping to meet the need in a manner that enables clients’ to promote their eateries while showing compassion and care for customers who truly require a straw to drink.

Interestingly, some environmental advocates have been critical of plastic straw bans, saying they should be instituted with more comprehensive pollution control reform. “We would encourage City Council to think comprehensively about the plastic pollution issue. Straws are one piece of the problem,” Jennifer Caddick of the Alliance for the Great Lakes told the Chicago Sun-Times. “If they do consider a straw ban, they should work to include the perspective of everybody that would be affected.”

Ultimately, it remains to be seen if a straw ban will come to fruition in Chicago. One thing is for sure: Momentum in favor of restrictions on single-use plastic straws and bags is building. For instance, a Philadelphia suburb recently became the first municipality in Pennsylvania to strictly regulate plastic bags and straws. Of even greater import, the European Parliament voted in late October to enact a complete ban on certain single-use plastics, including drinking straws and disposable cutlery, across the European Union. Before the ban can take effect, parliament has to negotiate with the European Council of government ministers from its member nations. The council could make a decision on Dec. 16.