Environment Secretary Michael Gove has today (May 22) confirmed a ban on plastic straws, drinks stirrers, and plastic stemmed cotton buds in England.
The ban would come into force in April 2020.
In its response to a consutation on the topic, government revealed that over 80 percent of respondents back a ban on the distribution and sale of plastic straws, 90 percent a ban on drinks stirrers, and 89 percent a ban on cotton buds.
“Urgent and decisive action is needed to tackle plastic pollution and protect our environment. These items are often used for just a few minutes but take hundreds of years to break down, ending up in our seas and oceans and harming precious marine life,” Gove said.
“So today I am taking action to turn the tide on plastic pollution, and ensure we leave our environment in a better state for future generations.
In England, an estimated 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirrers and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds are used annually. Around 10 percent of cotton buds are flushed down toilets and can end up in waterways and oceans.
Use of these products for medical reasons will be exempted from the ban.
The latest move in fighting plastic pollution follows the ban on microbeads and 5p charge on single-use plastic bags, which has seen distribution by major supermarkets drop by 86 percent.
