The British government has decided to ban single-use items like plastic cutlery, plates and polystyrene trays to tackle the growing plastic waste problem, the BBC reported. Environment Secretary Therese Coffey confirmed the move, saying, that it ''would help protect the environment for future generations.'' The UK has already banned some single-use plastic items, including straws, stirrers and cotton buds.
Notably, single-use plastic refers to items that are used only once and discarded after their immediate use.
Ms Coffey is set to ban a range of single-use plastic items specifically relating to takeaway food and drink from cafes and restaurants, including plastic plates, trays, bowls, cutlery, balloon sticks and certain kinds of polystyrene cups and food containers. The move follows a consultation on the issue by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) that ran from November 2021 to February 2022.
"A plastic fork can take 200 years to decompose, that is two centuries in landfill or polluting our oceans. I am determined to drive forward action to tackle this issue head-on. We've already taken major steps in recent years - but we know there is more to do, and we have again listened to the public's calls," she told BBC.
"This new ban will have a huge impact to stop the pollution of billions of pieces of plastics and help to protect the natural environment for future generations," Ms Coffey added.
A department spokesperson confirmed to NPR that the full announcement is coming on Saturday, January 14.
However, it is not expected to outlaw plastic plates and bowls that are used as packaging for takeaway items at supermarkets and other shops. The government said it would address those by other means.
Government figures suggest that 1.1 billion single-use plates and 4.25 billion items of single-use cutlery are used in England each year. Only 10% of this giant mountain of plastic ends up recycled, and further contributes to polluting soil and water.
The Scotland and Wales governments already have outlawed many single-use food and drink plastics. On July 1, 2022, the Indian government also imposed a ban on single-use plastics on items ranging from straws to cigarette packets.
