Single-use plastic items may be banned in England soon

Single-use plastic items including cutlery, plates and polystyrene cups are set to get banned in England by the UK government after a consultation, stated a recent report.

Thérèse Coffey, the environment secretary, is poised to unveil plans to phase out the items and replace them with biodegradable alternatives in the coming weeks, Financial Times reported.

It comes after the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) held a public consultation on a plan to ban the supply of single-use plastic items and polystyrene food and drink containers. This ran from November 2021 to February this year.

At the end of the consultation, the newspaper claimed the ban was delayed by chaos in Westminster. It has now cited government insiders who reportedly claim that Coffey is preparing to approve the ban.

Single-use plastic products plates, cutlery, balloon sticks and expanded and extruded polystyrene cups will be covered in this bid to reduce plastic pollution. Scottish and Welsh governments had already taken similar actions.

The UK government banned single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds in England in 2020.

Stating that cutting reliance on single-use plastics is crucial, a Defra spokesperson said that the government is are determined to go further and faster to reduce, reuse, and recycle more of our resources in order to transform our waste industry and deliver on our commitments in the ambitious 25-year environment plan.

“Having already banned single-use straws, stirrers and cotton buds and ended the sale of billons of single-use bags with our plastic bag charge, we will be responding soon to a consultation on further bans of plastic plates, cutlery, balloon sticks and expanded and extruded polystyrene cups," reports quoted the spokesperson as saying.