Plastic drinking straws could be BANNED in bid to clean up our oceans and rivers

THE Government could ban plastic drinking straws as early as this year, in a bid to clean up oceans and rivers.

Bars, pubs and restaurants would be forced to use environmentally friendly alternatives such as paper.

EU laws were thought to be holding Britain back from a ban, but Environment Secretary Michael Gove is expected to announce the move before Brexit.

He said: “Watch this space. If it is bad, then banning it is a good thing.”

It follows decisions by firms including Pizza Express, Wagamama, JD Wetherspoon, Costa and drinks giant Diageo to start phasing them out.

Scenes in Sir David Attenborough’s wildlife documentary Blue Planet II featuring a whale carrying her dead newborn around for days brought plastic sea pollution into the limelight.

It was suggested the animal might have been poisoned by its mother’s polluted milk.

Mr Gove said he was “haunted” by the documentary.

Last month he wrote in the Evening Standard: “For most of us they’re just a convenience. For wildlife they are killers.

“The plastic straws we use and throw away so carelessly are lethal.

“They embed themselves in the noses of sea turtles, block the throats of dolphins and choke fish. All this so that humans can empty their glasses more quickly.”

A recent study estimated 8.5billion plastic straws are binned every year. Each could take 500 years or more to break down.

The Treasury is also considering whether to add a small charge to disposable plates and cutlery.

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