After Scotland banned single-use plastics on the 12th of August 2022 and Wales confirmed they were banning the same in 2023, the UK Government has now confirmed that England will follow suit.
The date for the ban to commence has not yet been declared, however the UK will see the ban of single-use plastic cutlery and plates, as well as polystyrene trays within 2023. Many have stated that this is progress towards making the UK greener, however others have called for the government to create a wider-ranging plastic reduction strategy.
Greenpeace UK’s political campaigner, Megan Randles, has claimed that even though the ban is a step in the right direction it is also “like reaching for a mop instead of turning off the tap.” As the UK should be doing more to stop the “plastic flood”.
“We’re dealing with a plastic flood, and this is like reaching for a mop instead of turning off the tap.”
Megan Randles
Thérèse Coffey, the UK’s Environment Secretary has stated that this ban will help protect the environment as the plastic waste that comes from these plates and cutlery take years to decompose.
The ban, which is set to mainly affect takeaway businesses, has been put into place due to statistics that show that within England we waste roughly 4 billion pieces of plastic cutlery each year, as well as 1.1 billion single-use plastic plates.
