UK Government to ban plastic straws
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Plastic, drink stirrers and other single-use plastic will be sharply limited in the UK starting next year! A hopeful day for the Zero Waste Movement.
In a press release, the UK Government has announced that it will place new restrictions on certain kind of single-use plastic waste. The reason being, the effort to limit ocean plastic waste. It is likely that other factors played a significant part, as the refusal of China to buy plastic scrap from third countries, a notion that has been slowly adopted by other countries like Malaysia and Philippines. Already today, the landfill cost in the UK is among the highest in the world with the still-looming Brexit, making the shipment to other European Countries less and less likely.
In the future, you will have to ask for a straw in a restaurant or bar. The sale of straws, plastic-stemmed cotton buds and drink stirrers will also no longer be available for purchase in supermarkets. Patients and people with disabilities will only be able to purchase these products in pharmacies. The UK is the first major industrial country to ban some common kinds of single-use plastics. The UK Government estimates that the number of plastic straws will drop from a staggering 4.7 Billion to about 44 Million. It will further prove the point that there are sustainable customer friendly solutions for every consumer need in the market. There is no reason to use plastic cups over paper-cups; there are multi-use straws and organic alternatives available. The issues have been made only about immediate and not long term environmental costs. There is now hope that the shocking forecasts in regards to the amount of plastic waste will be wrong. At the current growth rate, it was estimated that about 34 Billion Tons of plastic could be cering the globe by 2050.
The new legislation brings hope that other countries will follow with similar bans as discussed in California and Germany. Banning single-use plastic brings significant benefits to communities that are…
