Revellers urged to say no to straws over the festive season

Partygoers are being urged to go without straws in drinks this festive season in a drive to cut plastic waste.

SNP MSP Kate Forbes called on bars, cafes and restaurants to also stop routinely offering plastic straws to help protect the environment.

The issue of plastic pollution has gathered momentum with the screening of David Attenborough's Blue Planet II, which includes moving scenes of the damage caused to the world's oceans and their inhabitants.

It is estimated around eight million tonnes of plastic reaches the sea every year and by 2050 there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish.

Earlier this week Ullapool was hailed for its action to tackle the problem with all 14 bars, restaurants and cafes in the village either removing straws altogether or switching to non-plastic alternatives.

Ms Forbes, the member for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, said that for many giving up straws would be an easy first step in reducing the amount of waste created by single-use disposable plastic items.

She said: "For most of us, straws in our drinks are something we use out of habit, not out of necessity.

"And plastic straws don't do our environment any good - they're just one among many disposable plastic items we encounter day to day, used once, ditched and sent to landfill. They don't biodegrade and can take centuries to break down.

"Plastic straws can pose a very risk to wildlife on land and form part of the eight million tonnes of plastic waste jettisoned into our seas every year.

"This isn't a situation that can just continue unchecked. Fundamental change in behaviour is needed from the ground up - people making an active choice not to use single-use plastic products, especially when they don't have to.''

Ms Forbes added: "The straw should be an easy thing to give up for most people. That's why this Christmas and New Year I'm encouraging folk to think before they order their drinks and go straw free.

"For bars and restaurants, it's just another waste item - something that costs them money but that customers don't necessarily need nor want.

"By not offering straws in drinks as a matter of course they'll be helping both their bottom line and the environment."