2024 UK to extend ban on single-use plastic plates and other items

The EU's proposed Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) was published on 30 November, moving directly from a 'directive' to a 'regulation' which, if implemented, will have the force of law at EU level. The European Soft Drinks Association says the PPWR poses an "existential" threat to the industry. 

An industry coalition of 62 companies in the European packaging value chain issued a statement saying that the PPWR would set back Europe's transformation process. The PPWR will bring demand for recycled materials to China, where many plastic packaging products for the European market have new packaging requirements under the PPWR. 

In order to reduce the use of plastic products, the British government plans to ban disposable plastic plates and knives, forks and spoons in England, to biodegradable products instead. Similar restrictions are currently in place in Scotland and Wales. 

According to CNN 14 to the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman as a source reported that the British government has banned single-use plastic straws, stir sticks and plastic swabs and other products, but "decided to go faster and further in reducing, reusing and recycling resources". The spokesman said the ministry had already consulted the public once on new restrictions on plastic products in England. According to the Financial Times, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Tracey Coffey, will announce the specifics of the new rules in the coming weeks. 

In its public consultation document, the UK government said that plastic cutlery is one of the 15 most common types of waste in the UK. In England alone, residents use 1.1 billion disposable plates and 4.25 billion disposable knives, forks and spoons every year, which equates to around 20 plates and 77 knives, forks and spoons per person. Only 10 per cent of this plastic waste is recycled. 

According to CNN, studies have confirmed that restrictions can be effective in reducing the use of plastic, and a study published in 2018 showed that the number of plastic bags on the seabed in UK waters decreased significantly after the ban on free plastic bags. A report published by the United Nations Environment Programme last year showed that plastic pollution has become a huge challenge for humanity. 

If left unchecked, the amount of plastic waste entering aquatic ecosystems could reach 37 million tonnes by 2040, nearly three times the current level. In addition, because single-use plastics are made from fossil fuels, they produce carbon emissions at "every stage of their life", which could also accelerate climate change.

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