Single-use plastic plates and cutlery could soon be gone

SINGLE-USE plastic plates, cutlery and polystyrene cups could be banned in England under plans to cut damaging waste.

A public consultation on a ban will be launched in the autumn, with the aim of businesses using more sustainable alternatives and cutting polluting plastic litter. Each person uses 18 single-use plastic plates and 37 single-use plastic items of cutlery each year in England, according to figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Thanks to the durability of plastic, items used for a few minutes can last for centuries in landfill or as litter in the countryside or ocean, it warned.

Around the world, more than one million birds and more than 100,000 sea mammals and turtles die every year from eating plastic waste or getting tangled in it. Environment Secretary George Eustice said: “We’ve all seen the damage that plastic does to our environment. It is right that we put in place measures that will tackle the plastic carelessly strewn across our parks and green spaces and washed up on beaches.”