‘A drop in the ocean’: England bans some single-use plastics – but does it go far enough?
2023-01-09
Each year, the country uses around 1.1 billion single-use plates and 4.25 billion items of cutlery, according to government estimates. Only 10 per cent of these are recycled.
Now, environment secretary Thérèse Coffey has confirmed that such items will be outlawed in England.
‘A plastic fork can take 200 years to decompose’
Plastic objects used for takeaway food and drink – including containers, trays and cutlery – are the biggest polluters of the world’s oceans, studies have shown.
“A plastic fork can take 200 years to decompose, that is two centuries in landfill or polluting our oceans,” says Coffey.
Billions of single-use plastic items are disposed of each year in England, rather than recycled.
England bans single use plastic
England is now set to ban single-use items including plastic plates, knives and forks.
The decision comes after a consultation by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) that took place from November 2021 to February 2022.
“I am determined to drive forward action to tackle this issue head on,” Coffey says.
“We’ve already taken major steps in recent years – but we know there is more to do, and we have again listened to the public’s calls.
“This new ban will have a huge impact to stop the pollution of billions of pieces of plastic and help to protect the natural environment for future generations.”
Euronews, 09-01-23
; https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/01/09/a-drop-in-the-ocean-england-bans-some-single-use-plastics-but-does-it-go-far-enough