UK BANS THE SALE OF PLASTIC STRAWS AND COTTON BUDS

The British Government has announced an end to the sale of plastic straws, drink stirrers and plastic-stemmed cotton buds at the start of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit.

Subject to the consultation, which the Environment Secretary Michael Gove will launch later this year, UK authorities are prepared to ban the sale of these items in Britain under plans to protect their rivers and seas and meet their 25 Year Environment Plan ambition to eliminate avoidable plastic waste.

The announcement comes as the Prime Minister Theresa May urged all Commonwealth countries to sign up to the newly-formed Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance and take action, be this through a ban on microbeads, a commitment to cutting down on single-use plastic bags, or other steps to eliminate plastic pollution.

Single-use plastic items such as straws, stirrers and cotton buds have a significant impact on our environment, both on land and in our seas and rivers – with a recent study showing 8.5 billion plastic straws are thrown away each year in the UK alone.

To drive the intiative forward, British policy-makers have committed a £61.4 million (US$83.3 million) package of funding to boost global research and help countries across the Commonwealth stop plastic waste from entering the oceans in the first place.

ABOVE 500 million straws are used by Americans daily