The sale of single-use plastic plates, cutlery and other utensils will be banned in the UK from October in an effort to reduce pollution of seas, rivers and on land, the Department for Environment, Food and the Environment announced today. British rural affairs.
The authorities have given companies ten months to adapt to the new regulations, which will also affect utensils such as plastic trays and bowls, as well as some types of polystyrene cups and food containers.
2.7 billion single-use cutlery, mostly plastic, and 721 million plates are used in England each year, of which only 10 per cent is recycled, according to ministry figures.
As of October, retail businesses, restaurants, bars, home delivery companies and any other business must have adapted to the ban.
The British government has stressed in a statement that plastic waste takes hundreds of years to decompose and causes serious damage to ecosystems. Its production is also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.
“We all know the absolutely devastating effects plastics can have on the environment and wildlife. We have listened to the public and this new ban on single use plastics will continue our vital work to protect the environment in the face of future generations,” he said the Minister of the Environment Thérèse Coffey.
The Executive underlined that 95% of the interviewees who participated in a consultation on the measure are in favor of the veto.
Environmental organization Greenpeace has called for a more ambitious strategy for its part: “Banning items one by one generates good headlines for the government, but it won’t eliminate the staggering amount of plastic the UK produces every year,” said Nina Schrank in a statement. , Plastics Campaign Manager at Greenpeace UK.
The organization is calling for a law requiring supermarkets to offer their customers the option of using reusable containers, a return system for used bottles and for the UK to stop exporting waste abroad.
The UK government already banned the use of plastic microbeads in the production of cosmetics in 2018, while it banned single-use straws and plastic tampons in 2020. EFE extension
Photo: EFE
Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.