Cork County Council has been appointed the lead local authority for the country to implement the ambitious replacement programme and is also helping with a project to reduce plastic waste in its own county.

From today public bodies, including schools and hospitals, are no longer allowed to purchase single-use plastics such as cups, cutlery and straws, writes Joyce Feegan.

Business group, environmental body, and sports organisations get behind plan to fight the threat

Building material group, Kingspan, has partnered with a foundation that removes plastic from the ocean and plans to reuse as much of the plastic recovered as it can in the production of insulation products.