Indiscriminate use and disposal of single-use plastic products result in serious environmental pollution and are hazardous to wildlife.

UK ban on single-use plastic items in April 2020

According to The Guardian, the United Kingdom (UK) will be banning single-use plastic items from next year onwards.

In the UK,  almost five billion of plastic straws, 300 million plastic stirrers and two billion cotton buds with plastic stems are used every year. 

A total ban will be applied to single-use plastic drink stirrers with no exceptions.

The sale of plastic straws and cotton buds will be limited to registered pharmacies only. This means you will not be able to buy them at major supermarkets.

Restaurants, pubs and catering companies will not be allowed to display or hand out plastic straws anymore.

However, exceptions are made for people with a disability or a medical condition.

People are encouraged to seek alternatives such as paper or biodegradable options.

Public support

A public consultation shows that majority of the British is supportive of this move.

80 percent supports banning the sale and distribution of plastic straws while 90 percent supports the ban of plastic stirrers.

The move came in light of the environmental problems caused by plastic waste which gets washed into the waterways in the UK and becomes a risk to wildlife too.

For example, an average of 17 cotton buds is found at every 100m of beach in the UK, according to the Marine Conservation Society.

Earlier in March, the European Parliament also voted to ban single-use plastic by 2021 in all EU member states.

Besides plastics, food waste also has a much far-fetching impact than you think too.

Top photo from Bilderjet and Emilian Robert Vicol via Pixabay