Yahoo News Cotton buds, plastic straws and stirrers banned in England from today
A delayed ban on single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds has come into effect in England today (1 October).
This means that it is now illegal for businesses to sell or supply the items. The measure was supposed to be implemented in April, but was pushed back due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
According to the BBC, people in England use an estimated 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirrers and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds each year.
Exemptions are in place to protect disabled people and those with medical conditions who require plastic straws.
Environment Secretary George Eustice says Number 10 is "firmly committed to tackling" the problem of single-use plastics.
"The ban on straws, stirrers and cotton buds is just the next step in our battle against plastic pollution and our pledge to protect our ocean and the environment for future generations," he said.
"We are already a world-leader in this global effort. Our five-pence charge on single-use plastic bags has successfully cut sales by 95% in the main supermarkets, we have banned microbeads, and we are building plans for a deposit return scheme to drive up the recycling of single-use drinks containers."
While campaigners welcomed the move, Sion Elis Williams, of Friends of the Earth, said ministers "must also do more to challenge our throwaway culture by forcing a shift away from all single-use materials in favour of reusable alternatives".
Disposable PPE is now a major problem for the environment, with RSPCA's Head of Wildlife Adam Grogan saying the charity is increasingly being called out to animals who're getting caught up in it.
He told Sky News: "We are seeing an increase in numbers of animals getting caught up in things like masks… they've got their legs or other parts of their bodies entangled in things like the elastic bands that go over the ears.
"This proposed legislation coming in about singe use plastics should help us to refocus on the fact that the pandemic has created another set of single use items that actually we don't need to use, especially we can use reusable items a lot of the time."
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