Plastic straws and stirrers at an event bar in England: what the 2020 Regulations allow

A drink poured into a reusable cup at an event bar often leaves with something else in it: a straw, or a stirrer. In England those two items have their own rules, separate from anything about the cup. The Environmental Protection (Plastic Straws, Cotton Buds and Stirrers) (England) Regulations 2020 came into force on 1 October 2020. This article covers what they say about drinks service, and what a bar can do with the rest of the cup.

Stirrers: an offence, with no catering exemption

Regulation 14 says a person who, in the course of a business, supplies or offers to supply a plastic drink stirrer is guilty of an offence. Regulation 2 defines a plastic drink stirrer as an implement made partly or wholly of plastic designed and intended for stirring drinks, and defines supply as supply whether by way of sale or not, so a free stirrer is a supply. The only provision to which regulation 14 is expressed to be subject is regulation 15, a six-month transitional period for stock obtained before the Regulations came into force, which ended in 2021.

The Defra post implementation review of December 2025 states plainly that there are no exemptions in place for plastic stirrers. The GOV.UK guidance lists drink stirrers among the banned items and says there are no exemptions to the ban on those items.

Straws: restricted, with an exemption for catering establishments

Regulation 4(1) makes it an offence to supply, or offer to supply, a single-use plastic straw to an end user in the course of a business. A single-use plastic straw is one made wholly or partly from plastic that is not designed or intended to be re-used. Since 3 July 2021, regulation 4(3) also makes it an offence to supply a drink product with an attached plastic straw.

Regulation 6 then exempts the supply by a catering establishment of a single-use plastic straw together with food or drink supplied for immediate consumption, on two conditions. Straws must not be kept in a place where they are visible to customers or where customers can access them, and they must not be offered or provided to a customer unless the customer has requested them. The GOV.UK guidance adds that straws must not be offered verbally or in writing.

Regulation 6(3) defines a catering establishment as a restaurant, canteen, club, public house or similar establishment, including a vehicle or a fixed or mobile stall, which supplies food or drink that is ready for consumption without further preparation. The other exemptions are for pharmacies, medical devices and medical purposes, straws that are packaging, and care homes, early years premises, schools and prisons. A business buying straws for its own catering establishment is not an end user for the purposes of regulation 4, as regulation 2 excludes supply for the purposes of a catering establishment from that definition.

Does an event bar count?

The Regulations do not mention events, festivals or temporary bars. A bar run by a pub, a club or a mobile stall is within the words of regulation 6(3), and our reading is that a bar set up for an event by an operator selling drinks for immediate consumption sits close to that wording. That is a reading and not a statement from Defra. The party that decides is the local council, which enforces the Regulations, so the practical step is to put the question to the council that covers the site before the event and keep its reply.

Whichever way it falls, regulation 14 on stirrers applies to every business, so an event bar cannot supply a plastic stirrer on any reading of regulation 6.

Reusable straws and the label problem

The GOV.UK guidance sets out what it means by single-use and reusable. A product is single-use if it is not designed or intended for reuse. A product is reusable if it can be used safely and easily many times for its original intended purpose, for example by being refilled at home over an extended lifespan or reused by a business for many circuits or rotations. The guidance adds that a single-use product cannot be relabelled as reusable if it has had no changes made to it, and that an unchanged single-use product would still be banned.

Because regulation 2 defines the offending straw as one not designed or intended to be re-used, a straw that is designed to be reused falls outside regulation 4 on the wording. The guidance lists reusable silicone straws with a travel case as an example, and suggests single-use alternatives such as wood or paper where reusable ones are not appropriate. It also says that plastic includes biodegradable, compostable and recycled plastic, and items wholly or partly made from plastic, including plastic coatings or linings. Our guide to the single-use plastic rules for cups covers the polystyrene cup bans in England, Scotland and Wales.

How it is enforced

Under the Regulations the regulator is the local authority. The GOV.UK guidance says councils carry out inspections: inspectors can visit a shop or store, make test purchases, speak to staff and ask to see records. A business that breaks the law could be fined and ordered to cover the cost of the investigation, and can appeal within 28 days of getting a fine. The Regulations also set out civil sanctions in a Schedule, including fixed monetary penalties, compliance notices and stop notices.

Regulation 16 gives a defence to a person who shows they took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence, with conditions about naming third parties. Regulation 17 sets a time limit for prosecution of twelve months from the prosecutor learning of enough evidence, and no proceedings more than three years after the offence.

The Defra review of December 2025 recommends keeping the Regulations and, subject to future ministerial and resourcing decisions, strengthening monitoring and enforcement. It names possible measures such as more guidance for enforcement bodies and awareness campaigns aimed at small and micro businesses. Its survey found plastic straws still reported in hospitality settings, and it says the findings underscore the need for more robust enforcement.

What this site says about its cups

The reusable event cups range is listed as BPA-free and dishwasher safe, with orders starting at 50 cups for printed cups. The cup hire page says its cups are shatterproof, dishwasher safe and BPA-free, and that collection, washing and drying support is available after the event. Neither page mentions straws or stirrers, and this article makes no claim about them. If you are planning an event bar, ask for a quote with the format and the quantity, and settle the straw and stirrer question separately with your drinks supplier and your council.

Where this stands

This was checked on 1 October 2026. The legislation.gov.uk text of the Regulations shows no known outstanding effects, with regulation 2 last amended from 1 October 2023. The GOV.UK guidance was last updated on 7 October 2024. The Regulations apply to England only, so a bar in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland needs the rules of that nation.