Plastics ban in England delayed

17th April 2020

The Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Agriculture (DEFRA) have announced the plastics ban on straws, stirrers, and ear buds will not take place this month.

The ban was due to come in at the end of April, but has now been pushed back until October due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A Defra spokesperson said:
“Given the huge challenges posed to businesses by coronavirus, we have confirmed we will delay the introduction of our ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds until October 2020.

“We remain absolutely committed to turning the tide on the widespread use of single-use plastics and the threat they pose to our natural environment. This ban is yet another measure to clamp down on unnecessary plastic so we can better protect our precious wildlife and leave our environment in a better state for future generations.”

EAUC has lobbied the Government to ban plastics over the last few decades, and while it is disappointing to see this win delayed, we understand the reasoning . It is right that our members do not have extra burden placed on them at this time, to enable them to focus on the health and wellbeing of their staff, students and wider community. We urge DEFRA to push forwards with these plans as soon as possible.