London will ban single-use plastic tableware in England from October, the UK Environment and Agriculture Department said on Saturday. The measure aims to protect the oceans from plastic pollution.
Single-use plastic plates, cutlery, bowls and trays and certain types of polystyrene cups or packaging will also be banned, particularly from distributors, restaurants, hotels and take-away food sales.
This decision was taken following a public consultation, from which emerged strong support for the elimination of these utensils from the market. According to the ministry, England uses 2.7 billion single-use cutlery sets a year. Only 10% is recycled.
Companies that do not comply with the ban will be fined, and in the event of repeated violations, a criminal sanction might apply.
Turn off the tap
“I am proud of our efforts” to limit plastic pollution and protect the oceans, welcomed the Minister of the Environment Therese Coffey, citing the ban already implemented on “microbeads, straws, stirrers and cotton balls- plastic rods. She added that charging for plastic bags has caused their sales to drop by 97% in major supermarkets.
The ban, however, will not apply to plates, trays and bowls used as packaging in “self-service pre-packaged dishes and foods”.
Environmental NGO Greenpeace welcomed the ban on “certain items” made of plastic, but said “we are inundated with plastic and this decision is like picking up a mop instead of going to turn off the tap”.
Single-use plastic dishware has already been banned in the EU since July 2021.
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