Plastic plates and cutlery may be banned under latest green drive

PLASTIC cutlery and plates could be banned under plans being considered by the Government.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is investigating what the environmental and economic impact would be if the items were removed from sale in England.

It comes after the Government announced plans to ban plastic straws, drink stirrers and plastic-stemmed cotton buds earlier this year and is consulting on a deposit return scheme for single-use drinks containers.

Theresa May, who has described plastic waste as “one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the world”, has already overseen the introduction of a ban on plastic microbeads and a 5p levy on plastic bags.

France was the first country to announce a ban on plastic plates and cutlery, to come into effect in 2020.

In a notice seen by Tussell, a data provider of public procurement information, Defra is offering a £19,000 contract for research into the “economic, environmental and social impacts of introducing a legislative ban in England” on plastic plates and cutlery.

The notice states: “Single-use plastics, including plastic plates, plastic cutlery and plastic balloon sticks may have significant negative impacts on the general environment when they are discarded after use.

“The Government wishes to assess what the economic impacts of introducing regulations banning these items in England would be and weighing these impacts against the resultant environmental benefits.”

It comes amid rising concern about the impact of single-use plastics on the environment, and the oceans in particular.

The latest annual beach clean-up by the Marine Conservation Society found that single-use plastic items from the on-the-go food and drink market now make up one-in-five pieces of litter – an average of 138 pieces on every 100m (330ft) of UK beaches.

A Defra spokesman said: “As set out in our 25 year environment plan our ambition is to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste. We have already introduced a world-leading ban on microbeads and taken nine billion plastic bags

‘We can buy fat-free, dairyfree, sugar-free, gluten-free – but just try buying plasticfree in supermarkets’

out of circulation with our 5p carrier bag charge, but we want to go further to achieve this goal. And to do that we are prepared to introduce a ban on the sale of plastic straws, stirrers and plastic-stemmed cotton buds to protect our rivers and seas.”

Sian Sutherland, founder of A Plastic Planet, said: “Somehow the UK government think there may be some benefit to continuing to allow plastic cutlery and plates to be sold in UK. But there are so many alternatives – bamboo, card, metal – all sustainably sourced, all highly recycled, all just as convenient. Why do we need to have a consultation on this when the answer is so evident?

“We can buy fat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, gluten-free – but just try buying plastic-free in your local supermarkets – it is impossible.”