Brickbat: Drink Up

A Berkeley, California, law will require restaurants to charge customers 25 cents for a single-use cup starting in January. A similar law will take effect in Palo Alto in 2021, and San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin has introduced a bill that would require restaurants to charge for disposable cups. Supporters say these laws will reduce waste, but advocates for the disabled say those with limited movement or sensation in their hands may find it hard to lift glass or ceramic cups. Berkeley is trying to find a way to exempt the disabled from having to pay for paper cups. But so far, hasn't found an answer. "You don't want a customer to have to say, 'Hi, I'm disabled, give me a free cup,'" said Sophie Hahn, the council member who introduced the law. "By the same token, you don't want a worker to have to say, 'Well, what kind of disability do you have and how do you prove it?'"