Plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds to be banned in England

Michael Gove is taking action on plastic pollution by banning plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds in England from next spring.

The environment secretary has confirmed a ban on the supply of the items from April 2020 after a consultation revealed “overwhelming” public support for the move.

Around 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirrers and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds are thought to be used in England each year.

Following the ban, food and drink outlets will be unable to display plastic straws or provide them to customers.

The only exceptions include those who need to use plastic straws for medical reasons or a disability will be able to buy them from registered pharmacies or request them in restaurants, pubs and bars, and the use of plastic-stemmed cotton buds for medical and scientific purposes.

Additionally, 90% backed a ban on drinks stirrers and 89% a ban on cotton buds.

It is hoped that millions of pounds could be saved annually on clean-up efforts of used plastics.

An estimated 150 million tonnes of plastic end up in the world’s oceans every year, while one million birds and over 100,000 sea mammals die from eating and getting tangled in plastic waste.

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Skynews