Government action to tackle the scourge of litter and protect the environment from plastic pollution has come into force. From the beginning of October 2023, a range of polluting single-use plastics now have bans and restrictions on them.
No business – whether retailer, takeaway, food vendor or part of the hospitality industry – will now be able to sell single-use plastic cutlery, balloon sticks or polystyrene cups and food containers in England. The supply of single-use plastic plates, trays and bowls has also been restricted. The new regulations were announced in January and extensive work has taken place throughout 2023 to provide further guidance on the ban for businesses.
Plastic pollution takes hundreds of years to break down and seriously damages our oceans, rivers and land. It is also a source of greenhouse gas emissions, from its production and manufacture to how it is disposed of.
Research shows people across England use 2.7 billion items of mostly plastic single-use cutlery and 721 million single-use plates every year, but only 10% of these are recycled. If 2.7 billion pieces of cutlery were lined up, they would go around the world more than eight-and-a-half times.
For more information, please see: New bans and restrictions on polluting single-use plastics come into force – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
October 19th, 2023
