Plastic: Welsh Government considers banning straws and cotton buds

The single biggest use of plastics is in packaging and it tends to be used just once before being thrown away

Plans to ban single-use plastic items including straws, cotton buds and polystyrene food and drinks containers is being considered by the Welsh Government.

It wants a zero waste Wales by 2050.

Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government Hannah Blythyn will launch a public consultation on the proposals at a beach clean on Anglesey on Thursday.

The Welsh Government said as coronavirus lockdown restrictions ease, littering has become more prominent.

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Ms Blythyn said: "Plastic pollution and the impact it has on our environment is regularly highlighted in the media, online and in conversations I have every day with people across Wales.

"It blights our communities and has a devastating impact on our wildlife."

Lesley Jones, CEO of Keep Wales Tidy, welcomed the launch of the consultation, saying: "The damage caused by plastics is far reaching and we are eager to see a drive towards reusable alternatives across society."

She said she hoped the consultation would "lead to a series of bold policy actions by government to reduce plastic at source".

More and more restaurants and shops are banning plastic straws

Responding to the launch of the consultation, Welsh Conservative member of the Senedd (MS) Janet Finch-Saunders said: "Finally, the Welsh Labour-led Government has stopped dithering and is getting on with banning single-use plastics, something which the Welsh Conservatives have been calling for and willing to do for years."

She also called for the introduction of a bottle deposit return scheme.

Concerns have previously been raised that ditching plastic drinking straws for eco-friendly alternatives could cause problems for disabled people.

The consultation is open until 22 October and the single-use plastic items being consulted on include: straws; stirrers; cotton buds; balloon sticks; plates; cutlery; food and drinks containers made of expanded polystyrene; and products made from oxo-degradable plastic.