Annie Heritage owns Cariad Wholefoods, a food store in Blandford that has been zero-waste since 2016.
“I am delighted to see the Government moving towards a ban on plastic straws and other single use plastics although I think the timescale needs to be moving considerably faster.”
This comes after the governments proposal to ban plastic straws and cotton buds along with other single use plastic items.
The government’s plan was announced on the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit as part of the Government’s 25 Year Environmental Plan to end avoidable plastic waste.
Consultation will be launched later this year to ban the sale of plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton buds in England.
The government says: “These single-use items contaminate the UK seas and rivers, especially because people do not dispose correctly of them. The UK alone produces a waste of 8.5 billion straws per year, recent study says, and many of them end up in our oceans.”
The UK has committed to a £61m budget to encourage global research on new ways of dealing with plastic waste. Prime Minister Theresa May also urged other Commonwealth countries to combat plastic pollution.
Many pubs and outlets around Dorset have already banned plastic straws and have replaced them with eco-friendly paper ones.
Festivals are also taking their stance as new campaign ‘Drastic On Plastic’ has emerged. Bestival, in Dorset, has joined over 60 independent festivals around the UK and have agreed to ban plastic straws this summer. The next step will be to eliminate all single use plastic within three years.
Rob da Bank says: – “It’s no surprise that everyone wants a cleaner and healthier planet after everything we’ve done it to over the last few thousand years….it’s amazing the sudden energy and focus that plastics have got and getting rid of as many as possible as soon as possible seems to be on many people’s and now governments list of priorities. I’m proud that Bestival and all our festivals are helping lead the charge on doing our bit and getting on top of this plastic problem“
Blue Planet Society is a volunteer pressure group that looks to end the overexploitation of the world’s ocean. Their spokesman said: “This so called War on Plastic has been triggered by a surge in public awareness, achieved primarily by activists. Social media has been integral in getting the media and government to act.”
