Plastic cotton bud ban opinions sought

The Scottish Government is seeking views on its plan to ban plastic-stemmed cotton buds.

Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said outlawing the manufacture and sale of the items in Scotland would help cut plastic pollution.

She said: “The Scottish Government has shown its environmental leadership by becoming the first in the UK to propose banning the manufacture and sale of plastic-stemmed cotton buds.

“Protecting our seas and oceans from the blight of plastic pollution is of great importance and we recognise the need to take action

“Our intention is to introduce legislation to ban these products”

when the health of our marine environment is threatened. xPlastic-stemmed cotton buds are entering our waters and littering our beaches needlessly.

“Our intention is to introduce legislation to ban these products and the first stage of this process is to consult on the proposal.

“I would encourage any organisation or individual with an interest in safeguarding our marine environment to respond to this consultation which outlines the issue and asks if the proposal is supported as well as considers any commercial implications.”

She said the planned ban is part of wider measures to clamp down on plastic pollution, including introducing a bottle deposit return scheme.

The consultation will close on June 22, after which legislation will be introduced to the Scottish Parliament.