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title: EU Proposes to Ban Plastic Straws, Stirs and Cotton Buds  | TIME
description: The European Union has proposed banning plastic products like cotton buds, straws, stirs and balloon sticks when alternatives are easily available in an attempt to reduce litter spoiling beaches and ocean beds.


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# EU Proposes to Ban Plastic Straws, Stirs and Cotton Buds

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LIvaEwX5.m3u8" -->
## Video: EU Proposes to Ban Plastic Straws, Stirs and Cotton Buds

[Watch (HLS stream): EU Proposes to Ban Plastic Straws, Stirs and Cotton Buds](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LIvaEwX5.m3u8) (1:25)

![EU Proposes to Ban Plastic Straws, Stirs and Cotton Buds](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/LIvaEwX5/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2018-05-28. The European Union has proposed banning plastic products like cotton buds, straws, stirs and balloon sticks when alternatives are easily available in an attempt to reduce litter spoiling beaches and ocean beds._


---

Jul 28, 2023 12:02 AM UTC

---

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### President Trump's 2020 Campaign Is Now Selling Plastic Straws: 'Liberal Paper Straws Don't Work'

[Starbucks Will Ditch Plastic Straws by 2020 to Reduce Ocean Waste](/video/LUVEbhft/)

### Starbucks Will Ditch Plastic Straws by 2020 to Reduce Ocean Waste

---


## Transcript

We are at risk of choking our oceans in plasitic, with a knock- on effect on our food chain and human health. Citizens really care about this. The Eurp baramoter tells us that 87 % of them are concenred about the impact of plastic polution on the environment. It's in the air It's in our oceans, it's in our food, and also in our bodies. So today, we're putting on the table a directive which will cover 70 % of the marine letter found on Europe's beaches. We're targeting the ten most commonly found single use plastic items that have a great chance of ending up as litter. And which are very difficult to recycle.

We also target plastic fishing gear. We've studied the market carefully and have come up with different solutions to tackle each product. We will ban single use products made of plastic. What this means in practice is that you won't see single use plastic cotton buds on your super market shelves, but ones made with more environmentally friendly materials instead. The same will go for straws, drink stirrers, sticks for balloons, cutlery and plates. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I don't want there to be any misunderstanding, so let me be very clear. These products won't disappear. They will just be made with different materials.

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