SINGLE-use plastic cups, stirrers and straws will be phased out of all county council premises after a vote this week.

Conservative councillor Suzanne Bartington urged councillors to support her plan which called for the ‘elimination of all avoidable plastic waste’.

As a result, any unnecessary use of plastic could be phased as early as this autumn after a report is completed.

Dr Bartington’s motion, which went before the council on Tuesday, said: “This council welcomes Government plans to reduce waste from single-use plastics including a ban on the sale of plastic straws, plastic stirrers and plastic-stemmed cotton buds and consultation for extension of the 5p plastic bag charge and introduction of a bottle deposit return scheme.

“These proposals demonstrate the Government’s commitment within the 25-year Environment Plan to eliminating all avoidable plastic waste by 2042.”

The motion also called for further work to ‘incentivise traders’ hosting events on council sites to avoid single-use plastics.

Earlier this year, Environment Secretary Michael Gove said single-use plastics were ‘a scourge’. A consultation on the products will start later this year and a ban could be enforced in 2019.

The Scottish Government announced a consultation on plans to ban the manufacture and sale of plastic-stemmed cotton buds in January.

The mass movement has been driven by BBC documentary Blue Planet 2.