England to Ban Single-Use Plastic Later This Year To Eliminate Avoidable Waste

England will try to control plastic use by adding more to the list they will ban this year.

England To Ban Plastic Plates and Cutlery in 2023

England will be restricting the sale of plastic cutlery, plates, bowls, trays, balloon sticks and certain kinds of polystyrene cups and food containers used in supermarket-ready meals, Engadget reported.

The UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the government would begin enforcing the legislation in October. The government will target a separate plan that incentives manufacturers to meet higher recycling standards, according to the announcement released Saturday.

According to estimates, England uses 2.7 billion items of single-use cutlery, most of which are plastics. The report noted that there are 721 million single-use plates every year, but only 10% are recycled. If 2.7 billion pieces of 15-centimeter cutlery were lined up, they would reportedly go worldwide over eight and a half times.

Starting in October, the locals will not be able to buy plastic plates and cutlery from retailers, takeaways, food vendors and the hospitality industry. Over 95% of those who responded to the consultation reportedly favored the ban.

Plastic pollution takes hundreds of years to break down and could severely damage the oceans, rivers and land. It is also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions from the production, manufacture and the way plastics are disposed of.

ALSO READ: Drinking from Plastic Bottles Could Make Us Ingest Nearly 100,000 Micro and Nanoplastics Every Year

Why Did England Decide To Ban Single-Use Plastic Cutlery

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said plastic has devastating impacts on the environment and wildlife. According to her, the ban on single-use plastic is part of their vital efforts to protect the environment for future generations. She also stressed that they only listened to the public. The announcement noted that 95% of participants agreed to ban plastic plates and cutlery during the consultation.

Coffey said she was proud of their efforts in banning plastic in the country. They have already banned microbeads and restricted the use of straws, stirrers, and cotton buds, and their carrier bag charge has successfully cut sales by over 97% in main supermarkets.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said plastic is a scourge that blights the streets and beautiful countryside. She is determined to encourage the country to shift away from single-use culture.

For her, introducing the ban on single-use plastics is doubling their commitment to eliminating avoidable plastic waste. She added that they are moving forward with their ambitious plans for a deposit returns scheme for drink containers and consistent recycling collections in England.

How Will the New Regulation Affect the Efforts In Reducing Plastic Waste

The announcement also noted that banning plastic plates, cutlery, and certain polystyrene plastics will significantly impact plastic waste and littering in England. Plastic cutlery was in the top 15 most littered items in the country by count in 2020.

The banning of straws, stirrers and cotton buds has reduced the damage of plastics. Prior to the ban, those items reportedly contributed 5.7% of marine litter. According to the Great British Beach Clean 2021, cotton bud sticks were no longer among U.K.'s top 1- most common beach litter items.

The government is also reportedly considering further measures around other commonly littered and problematic plastic items, including wet wipes, tobacco filters and sachets, following the call for evidence on this issue.