A Ban On The Use Of Plastic Straws Came Into Force In England
In England, a ban on the use of plastic straws, mixing sticks and ear cleaning sticks came into force on Thursday.
The ban took effect six months after the coronavirus pandemic.
Retailers in England are prohibited from selling these disposable items in an effort to reduce plastic pollution.
The ban was due to take effect on April 1, but was suspended when movement restrictions came into force in the country to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
According to government estimates, the people of England used 4.7 billion plastic straws, 315 million plastic sticks for mixing and 1.8 billion plastic sticks for cleaning their ears every year.
Environmentalists welcomed the ban, but said it was not enough. Tatiana Lujan, a lawyer at ClientEarth, said that "these items make up only a fraction of disposable plastics, which pollute our environment and release toxic substances and greenhouse gases when they are burned and even produced."