As of today, shops, takeaways, and food vendors across the UK are no longer permitted to off their customers and single-use plastic items in a move by the government to combat plastic pollution, with the ban also extending to specific types of polystyrene cups and containers.
The ban is in place on items such as cutlery, plastic trays, bowls, and even includes plastic balloon sticks.
Restaurants in England are reported to have used approximately 2.7 billion items of single-use cutlery, predominantly made of plastic, and 721 million single-use plates each year, of which just 10% found their way into the recycling process.
Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey, who introduced the ban in January, said “We all know the absolutely devastating impacts that plastic can have on our environment and wildlife.
“We have listened to the public and these new single-use plastic bans will continue our vital work to protect the environment for future generations.
“I am proud of our efforts in this area, we have banned microbeads, restricted the use of straws, stirrers and cotton buds and our carrier bag charge has successfully cut sales by over 97% in the main supermarkets.”
