The UK government is looking to impose restrictions on the use of single-use plastic cutlery and plates in order to curb pollution of rivers and seas.
Environment secretary Thérèse Coffey is preparing to announce plans to phase out the items, which would need to be replaced with biodegradable alternatives, following similar changes in Wales and Scotland, the FT has reported.
Single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds were banned in England in 2020, with ministers launching a consultation last year on the prohibiting of other single-use items, including plates, cutlery and polystyrene cups.
More than 4bn items of cutlery and more than 1bn plates involving single-use plastic are disposed of every year in England, with the majority ending in landfill or as litter.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: “We are determined to go further and faster to reduce, reuse and recycle more of our resources in order to transform our waste industry.
“We will be responding soon to a consultation on further bans of plastic plates, cutlery, balloon sticks and expanded and extruded polystyrene cups.”
Speaking at last year’s MCA Food to Go Conference, Jane Martin, head of development at City to Sea, not-for-profit campaigning organisation told delegates at there was “lots of movement in the policy space right now designed to move the sector towards reuse” and urged operators to gear up for the “significant regulatory reform” they will face over the coming months and years concerning the environment and sustainability.
