The UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) recently announced on August 27 that the government will negotiate a ban on disposable plates, cutlery and polystyrene cups in England this fall.
The Defra Affairs Department stated that this behavior will be based on the government's plan to phase out all avoidable plastic waste before the end of 2042.
More details, and a complete list of disposable items under review, will be announced in the coming weeks.
Previously, the EU's SUP directive was not translated into British law before the end of the Brexit transition period, so the Westminster government does not need to implement the requirements of the directive.
This has led to concerns that single-use plastic laws may vary across the UK.
This is because according to the Northern Ireland Protocol, Northern Ireland must convert the “certain clauses” of the SUP Directive regarding the placing of single-use plastic products on the market before 2022 or earlier, but this will not extend to other parts of the UK.
In the European Union, member states will have to ban the use of expanded polystyrene food containers and cups under the directive. This has not yet been introduced in the UK, and the ban on disposable plastic plates and cutlery is not covered.
The purpose of this consultation is to narrow the gap between the UK’s “plastic ban” and the EU.
Speed up the implementation of the ban.
Environment Minister George Eustis said: "We have all seen the damage caused by plastics to our environment. It is correct that we have taken measures to deal with plastics scattered randomly in parks and green spaces and washed up on beaches.
"We have made progress in reversing the plastic trend, banning the supply of plastic straws, blenders and cotton swabs, and our tote bag charges have reduced sales in major supermarkets by 95%."
"Now we want to go further because we rebuild to be more environmentally friendly. These plans will help us eliminate unnecessary plastic use that causes serious damage to the natural environment."
In recent years, the British government has also taken several other measures to reduce plastic consumption in the UK.
England banned the supply of plastic straws in October 2020. This includes restricting the supply of disposable plastic straws, blenders and cotton swabs.
Other efforts to reduce single-use plastic products include charging 10 pence for handbags, which increased from 5 pence after the initiative was successful.
The Defra Affairs Department will also impose a plastic packaging tax of £200 per ton on plastic packaging that does not meet the minimum threshold of at least 30% recycling content from April 2022.
This aims to encourage greater use of recycled plastics, thereby increasing the level of recycling and plastic waste collection.
Jo Morley, City to Sea activity leader, said: “We welcome the news that the government is taking measures to address some of the most polluted disposable items. This is a much-needed measure, and we as activists have been calling for it, and our thousands of supporters and the public.
"We now need to play a leading role in banning unnecessary disposable plastic products in order to bring real benefits to the country and the world's wildlife."
