Commenting on the beginning of the government ban on plastic
straws, stirrers and cotton buds, Crispin Truman, chief executive
of CPRE, the countryside charity, said:
‘These throwaway items have been the scourge of our
countryside for too long. Along with drinks containers and
cigarette butts, they have been blighting fields, rivers, beaches
and hills. Today's announcement from the government is a laudable
step in the right direction but it is certainly not job done.
Plastic straws, cotton buds and stirrers aren’t the only types of
litter that build up in nature and harm wildlife.
‘As an organisation which has long campaigned for lasting
solutions to litter, we know too well that single use items
continue to pile up in our countryside with newcomers of gloves
and masks having a major impact this year. The government has
been dragging its feet on key legislation required for ending our
single-use addiction – we need stronger, more decisive action
now, including an all-in Deposit Return Scheme and for producers
to be responsible for the cost of the single-use waste they sell
to their customers.
‘Our single use society has to end. The government must
seek solutions that rapidly move towards a truly circular economy
where we value materials, plastic or otherwise, to ensure their
use is limited in the first place and then always reused or
recycled effectively.’
