In the wake of a growing number of Irish pubs banning plastic straws, the trade body representing the country’s restaurant community has urged its members to follow suit. Like their counterparts in the UK, Irish pubs have been phasing out plastic straws for some time, following consumer concern that they contribute to marine pollution. Now the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI, Dublin; www.rai.ie) is urging its 2,500 members to do the same. Across the Irish Sea, the UK government has mooted the idea of banning plastic straws and plastic-stemmed cotton buds. It is estimated that 8.5 bn straws are used in the UK every year.

RAI president Liam Edwards said, "By removing plastic straws from our restaurants, I believe we can make a difference in the use of unnecessary plastic and make the Irish restaurant and hospitality industry more sustainable and environmentally friendly." The RAI said several of its foodservice and catering equipment partners already stock paper and biodegradable alternatives to plastic straws.

In the UK, McDonald's (Oak Brook, Illinois / USA; www.mcdonalds.com) has said it is looking at reducing the number of plastic straws given out to customers in its 1,239 outlets across the country. Other retailers are also looking to follow suit as consumers fret about pollution in the environment, particularly after TV programmes such as David Attenborough’s recent "Blue Planet 2" series highlighted the scale of the problem in the world’s oceans.

Earlier this month, UK prime minister Theresa May announced plans for a GBP 61.4m (EUR 70.2m) fund to fight plastics pollution at sea. She urged the assembled leaders at the Commonwealth conference held in London to sign on for the newly created Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance – see Plasteurope.com of 25.04.2018. Four countries are already on board: New Zealand, Vanuatu, Sri Lanka and Ghana.

Included under the UK government's plans to tackle plastics waste, and a measure that could make life a lot less convenient for parents, a ban on wet wipes is also up for discussion. According to charity organisation Thames21 (London; www.thames21.org.uk), 5,453 wet wipes were collected on a 116 m² area on the shore of the Thames River. The organisation says it is the "highest number of wet wipes ever found in a single place in the UK."

A recent industry initiative is the "UK Plastics Pact" – see Plasteurope.com of 04.05.2018 – which aims to transform the UK’s plastics system. It brings together over 60 companies and organisations that are aligned according to four 2025 targets to reduce plastics waste