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Plastic Straws, drink stirrers and cotton buds to be banned next year.
As part of a government plan to protect the environment and tackle pollution plastic straws, drink stirrers, and cotton buds will be banned in England from next year.
Michael Gove confirmed after overwhelming support for the scheme. April 2020 will be the start of the ban to supply of the items.
There will be exemptions that will allow those who have to use straws for a medical reason or disability. They will be able to buy them from registered pharmacies or request them in restaurants, pubs, and bars. Plastic stemmed buds will be allowed for medical and scientific purposes.
Food and drink outlets will not be allowed to hand plastic staws out or display them. 90% of respondents to a government consultation back a ban on drink stirrers and 89% back a ban on cotton buds. More than 80% support a ban on the sale and distribution of plastic straws.
It has been estimated that4.7 billion plastic stemmed straws, 316 million plastic stirrers, and 1.8 million plastic stemmed cotton buds are used in England each year.
It is believed that about 10% of cotton buds are flushed down the toilet. They often end up in oceans and waterways and take hundreds of years to break down. The items are only used for a few minutes but take hundreds of years to break down. They are harming precious marine life. Mr. Gove said urgent and decisive action is needed to tackle plastic pollution and protect our environment.
According to estimates, there are more than 150 million tonnes of plastic in the world’s oceans. Every year 100,000 sea mammals and one million birds die from eating and getting tangled in plastic waste.
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