Gove’s department using 1,400 plastic cups every day

MICHAEL GOVE’S department has pledged to crack down on waste after it was revealed it gets through 1,400 disposable cups a day.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has purchased 2.5 million disposable coffee cups – which contain plastic – over the past five years.

The figures emerged after Mr Gove, the Environment Secretary, said he was “haunted” by the programme Blue

Planet II, which showed footage of the impact of plastic on the oceans.

A Defra spokesman said: “We are committed to reducing unnecessary waste… We are working with our suppliers to see what more can be done to cut their use and promote recycling.”