From next year, plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds are to be banned in England in a bid to tackle plastic pollution and protect the environment.
Threats to stop the sale of these items have been ongoing for more than a year but now the Environment Secretary Michael Gove has confirmed it will happen from April 2020.
No longer will members of the public be able to buy cotton buds, straws or stirrers, and food and drink outlets will not be able to display them or automatically hand them out to customers.
Exemptions are to be made for those who need to use plastic straws for medical reasons or because they have a disability. They will be able to buy them from registered pharmacies or make a special request in bars and restaurants.
The decision has been made following a public consultation, published on Wednesday, that showed “overwhelming” public support for the move.
More than 80% of respondents back a ban on the distribution and sale of plastic straws, 90% a ban on drinks stirrers, and 89% a ban on cotton buds.
It is estimated 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirrers and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds are used each year in England. Around 10% of cotton buds are flushed down toilets, often ending up in waterways and oceans.
Not only is this damaging to the environment but results in money being spent on clean-up efforts. It is hoped millions of pounds will be saved.
This follows the government’s ban on microbeads and the introduction of a 5p charge on single-use plastic bags, which has resulted in a 86% drop in distribution by the major supermarkets since October 2015.
Some have come out in support of the announcement. Surfers Against Sewage chief executive Hugo Tagholm says: “Stopping the production and distribution of these single-use plastic menaces will prevent them from polluting beaches nationwide. It’s a really positive and bold step in the right direction.”
It is estimated there are more than 150 million tonnes of plastic in the world’s oceans and every year one million birds and over 100,000 sea mammals die from eating and getting tangled in plastic waste.
Lauren West, from Muscular Dystrophy UK says she is pleased that the needs of disabled people have been recognised in the proposals.
But Emma Priestland, plastics campaigner at Friends of the Earth thinks the action does not go far enough. She says: “Legislation to cut down on pointless plastic is good to see but these three items are just a fraction of the single-use plastic nasties that are used for a tiny amount of time before potentially polluting the natural environment for centuries to come.
“Ultimately we need producers to take responsibility for the plastic pollution caused by all their products; whether it’s bags, balloons, packets, containers or otherwise. This is why we’re campaigning for legislation to cut back on pointless plastic across the board.”