More ale houses are signing up to help preserve the Earth's precious oceans after a Burton pub giant pledged to ditch plastic straws.

Punch has become the latest pub company to make the commitment, which applies to the 70 establishments it runs in the UK.

And 1,200 tenants who lease the firm's ale houses will be encouraged to follow suit.

Straws will still be available on request, but will be replaced with sustainable alternatives as soon as possible.

You will have to start asking for straws

Burton MP Andrew Griffiths said: "It is fantastic to hear that Punch have agreed to stop giving out plastic straws in the pubs they manage directly, and will be encouraging their tenant landlords to do the same.

"I have been in many a pub when straws and stirrers are given out unnecessarily, and the plastic only ends up in the ocean, damaging sea life as it is not biodegradable.

"With estimates suggesting there could be as much as five trillion pieces of plastic in the world’s oceans, we must all do more to reduce the amount of plastic used unnecessarily.

"I welcome Punch's decision, and I hope Burton’s other pub companies will join them."

Punch Taverns headquarters in Burton, on Second Avenue
Punch Taverns headquarters in Burton, on Second Avenue

Paul Pavli, managing director of operations at Punch said: "Alongside a number of our peers in the industry, we are committed to reducing the use of damaging plastic straws in our retail pubs and will also be encouraging our circa 1,200 leased and tenanted publicans to join the campaign."

Before Punch's announcement, Mr Griffiths had written to Burton's three major pub companies - Punch, Marston's and Greene King - to call for them to scrap plastic straws and stirrers.

His letter followed the Government's ban on microbeads - tiny pieces of plastic used in cosmetic products that end up in the sea and are damaging to marine life.

Punch’s campaign on plastics will be on social media at #thefinalstraw.

Punch bosses said they were "unable" to tell the Burton Mail which of its pubs were leased in Burton and South Derbyshire.

A list of plastic straw alternatives

1) biodegradable "plastic" or polylactic acid

2) Metal

3) Straw straws

4) Bamboo

5) Glass

6) Paper

7) Go without a straw!

Pubs chains which have already banned plastic straws:

JD Wetherspoon

Liberation Group

Oakman Inns

All Bar One

Laine Pub Co

Redcomb Pubs

Be At One