Fees cut bag use - but not straws

The five-centime charge for a bag seems to have curtailed our use of plastics, but this country remains one of the world’s biggest plastic polluters.

When the fee was first brought in in 2016, plastic bag usage dropped an impressive 84% in the next year. 

The latest figures show that many shoppers continue to use their own reusable bags. 

But that’s where the good news ends. 

Plastic cutlery and straws continue to be a big problem, with 5,000 tonnes being thrown away every year. 

Switzerland has decided not to follow an EU rule on banning straws, although many retailers have chosen to do so and Geneva has banned single use plastic on public property. 

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