Plastic straws and cotton buds will be banned in England next year - although people with disabilities will still be able to request them.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove confirmed supplying the single-use items will be banned from April 2020. He says a consultation revealed "overwhelming" support for idea.
It will mean bars, restaurants and cafes will no longer be allowed to hand out plastic straws and stirrers, unless a customer has a disability or medical needs. Similarly, shops will only be allowed to dispense plastic-stemmed cotton buds for medical and scientific purpsoses.
The Government's consultation, published on Wednesday, revealed 80% of respondents backed a ban on plastic straws, while 90% called for a ban on plastic stirrers and 89% to end the sale of cotton buds.
Last year, bars in Newcastle voluntarily agreed to stop using plastic straws , and replaced them with paper versions.
McDonald's has also recently stopped stocking plastic straws .
It is estimated that 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirrers and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds are used each year in England.
Around 10% of cotton buds are flushed down toilets, often ending up in waterways and oceans, the Government said.
Mr Gove said: "Urgent and decisive action is needed to tackle plastic pollution and protect our environment. These items are often used for just a few minutes but take hundreds of years to break down, ending up in our seas and oceans and harming precious marine life.
"So today I am taking action to turn the tide on plastic pollution, and ensure we leave our environment in a better state for future generations."
It is estimated there are more than 150 million tonnes of plastici n the world's oceans and every year one million birds and over 100,000 sea mammals die from eating and getting tangled in plastic waste..
