Eco honour for MSP's Final Straw push

A PASSIONATE advocate against single-use plastics has been shortlisted for a leading environmental award.

Kate Forbes, who is MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, has won praise from environmentalists for her Final Straw campaign, which has called on the Scottish and UK governments to crack down on the use of straws.

She said Scots could be throwing away nearly three billion straws every year, based on US estimates of people using an average of 1.6 straws per day.

Now Ms Forbes has been shortlisted as political advocate of the year in RSPB Scotland’s Nature of Scotland Awards.

She is up against fellow MSPs Lewis McDonald and Mairi Gougeon as well as raptor conservationist Dr Ruth Tingay and the ecologist Dr Tom Dargie, who is regarded as one of Scotland’s most experienced dune experts and machair scientists.

This year there were a record number of nominations across nine categories.

A black-tie presentation dinner to announce the winners will take place on November 22 with hosts TV presenters Kate Humble and Euan McIlwraith.

For more information about the Nature of Scotland Awards visit the RSPB’s website at www.rspb.org.uk/natureofscotland