Single-use plastic cutlery and plates to be banned in England

Single-use items like plastic cutlery, plates and polystyrene trays will be banned in England, the government has confirmed.

It is not clear when the ban will come into effect but it follows similar moves by Scotland and Wales.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said the move would help protect the environment for future generations.

Campaigners welcomed the ban, but called for a wider-ranging plastic reduction strategy.

Government figures suggest that 1.1 billion single-use plates and more than four billion pieces of plastic cutlery are used in England every year.

Plastic waste often does not decompose and can last in landfill for many years.

Although it might be useful in terms of food hygiene, it can also end up as litter, in turn polluting soil and water.

The confirmation of the move from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) follows a long consultation, which will be published on Saturday 14 January.

Each person in England uses an average of 18 single-use plastic plates and 37 items of plastic cutlery every year, according to Defra, while just 10% of those are recycled.

Ms Coffey is set to ban a range of single-use plastic items mainly relating to takeaway food and drink.

"I am determined to drive forward action to tackle this issue head on. We've already taken major steps in recent years - but we know there is more to do, and we have again listened to the public's calls," she said.

"This new ban will have a huge impact to stop the pollution of billions of pieces of plastics and help to protect the natural environment for future generations."

Similar bans have already been made in Scotland, while single-use plastic straws, stirrers and plastic stemmed cotton buds were already banned in England in 2020.

Scotland introduced a ban on businesses using a range of single-use plastic goods in June last year. Laws for a similar ban in Wales were approved in December and will come into force later in 2023.

Source: BBC