Single-use plastic cutlery could be banned in England

Single-use plastic items such as plates, cutlery and polystyrene cups could be banned in England as the government is seeking to eliminate plastic waste, stated reports today (20).

As per proposals in a 12-week public consultation, businesses and consumers will need to move towards more sustainable alternatives.

A separate call for evidence will also investigate how to limit other polluting products such as wet wipes, tobacco filters and sachets. Possible options include mandatory labelling on packaging to help consumers dispose of them correctly.

An estimated 1.1 billion single-use plates and 4.25 billion items of single-use cutlery – most of which are plastic – are used in England each year, but just 10 per cent are recycled after disposal.

The proposals follow a ban on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products, reducing the number of plastic bags being used and restricting the supply of single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds.

Environment secretary, George Eustice, said: “There is growing recognition of the damage that plastics cause to our environment and marine life in particular. We want to reduce the use of plastics in packaging and ban its use in items linked to littering.

“We have already banned plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds and now plan to extend the ban to cutlery and balloon sticks where alternative materials like wood can be used.”

Welcoming the proposals, Marcus Gover, the chief executive of sustainable resource use charity Wrap, said that eliminating problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic is essential “if we are to turn the tide on plastic pollution and keep plastic out of the environment”.

However, anti-plastic campaigner Friends of the Earth has claimed that the government’s consultation on banning plastic cutlery, cups and plates is an “inadequate” response. It has condemned the “product-by-product approach” to the plastic waste crisis as being “far too slow” for the much-needed change.