Plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds are officially banned from today

The ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds has come into effect in England today, Thursday October 1st.

The move, which was first announced back in 2018, was brought in to tackle single-use plastic pollution and help protect the environment and our oceans.

It was originally meant to be in place by April this year,  but the coronavirus pandemic forced it to be pushed back until today.

Chemist 4 U / Flickr

This means that from today it is now illegal for businesses to give customers plastic utensils like straws and stirrers.

However, there are some exemptions to the new rules, and anyone who really needs them – like people with disabilities or medical conditions – can still get the plastic versions.

According to current estimates from the government, around 4.7 billion plastic straws, 1.8 billion plastic cotton buds and 316 million plastic stirrers are used in England each year.

Some retailers have already made the switch to non-plastic alternatives, like McDonald’s using paper straws since 2018.

And back in 2015, the government put a 5p charge on single-use plastic bags in supermarkets, leading to a 95% drop in their usage – this charge is set to rise to 10p from April 2021, with all retailers like corner shops and newsagents also included.