Environmental Protection (Plastic Straws, Cotton Buds and Stirrers) (England) Regulations 2020

Lord Young of Norwood Green Excerpts

Friday 10th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Young of Norwood Green (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, I too welcome the regulations. As many people have said, they are a small step in the right direction. What I query is that while the public may say they support these things, their attitudes display something different. Too many bottles, cans and plastic bags litter our environment. Why are retailers still offering plastic bags? We need to increase charges. Why is polyester still being used as packaging when we know how detrimental it is? Other people have mentioned the importance of speedily introducing the deposit return scheme; if we had one, children would probably co-operate in clearing up that problem. I looked at the Government’s 25-year strategy and there are some good things, but it fails to deal with one of the worst blights: wet wipes. Millions and millions of these are used, totally unnecessarily. In the good old days, we used a flannel that was capable of being washed. I look forward to the Minister’s response.