England’s ban on plastic straws goes into effect

In England, a ban on single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds has come into force.

The measure, which was originally due to start in April, prohibits companies from selling or supplying the items.

People in England use approximately 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirrers and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds each year.

Environmental advocates welcomed the ban, but called for cracking down on other single-use items.

An exemption will allow hospitals, bars and restaurants to provide plastic straws to people with disabilities or medical conditions that require them.

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Environment Secretary George Eustice said the government was “firmly committed” to addressing the environmental “devastation” caused by single-use plastics.

Activists welcomed the move but said the items made up only a “fraction” of the plastic waste that litters the environment.

Sion Elis Williams of Friends of the Earth said ministers “must also do more to challenge our throwaway culture by forcing a shift from all single-use materials in favor of reusable alternatives.”

Tatiana Lujan of the environmental law charity ClientEarth said that straws, cotton swabs and stirrers were “some of the most useless plastics out there” and that banning them was “a no-brainer.”

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But they were still “a small fraction” of single-use plastics, he said, adding that countries like Ireland and France had “shown much more ambition” with targets on reusable packaging and deposit refund schemes.

Eustice said the government was “building plans” for a deposit return scheme to encourage the recycling of single-use beverage containers.

The Welsh government has said it is also considering a similar ban on plastics.

Several national restaurant chains abandoned plastic straws before the ban was announced.