It’s the last straw for the Queen at Balmoral

It is the last straw – at least of the plastic variety – for the Queen at her private Scottish estate.

For Balmoral is banning plastic straws and bottles in a move to become single use plastic-free and the greenest of Her Majesty’s residences.

Buckingham Palace has outlined new waste plans and said there was a “strong desire to tackle the issue” in the royal household, in a move thought to be inspired by Sir David Attenborough.

Balmoral, which opens to the public on March 30, is now looking at becoming single use plastic-free as a leading player in the monarch’s war on plastic.

The 50,000-acre estate attracts around 70,000 visitors each year and operates a cafe, gift shop and accommodation as well as hospitality and other events.

However, the Queen is said to be determined to make Balmoral the greenest of her residences.

“The Balmoral Estate has for some time been moving towards phasing out single-use plastics and using compostable, biodegradable or recyclable packaging in the restaurants and shop at the visitor centre,” said a spokesman for the estate.

It has also produced its own green blueprint to show it is “committed to operating the estate in an environmentally sustainable manner”.

Environmental issues are regularly considered and discussed at all staff meetings and among the measures taken has been controlling energy use, the use of low energy light bulbs where possible, the upgrade of heating systems and boilers and improvements to building insulation.

Balmoral is also committed to generating increased amounts of green hydro power for supplying the castle and estate, and waste is sorted and recycled where possible.

Cardboard, glass, plastics, tin, light bulbs, batteries, fridges and freezers are all stockpiled and then taken to an appropriate recycle point.

Balmoral is phasing out plastic straws and bottles.