Starting in October, the United Kingdom will prohibit the use of single-use plastic cutlery, plates, and other goods and will replace them with biodegradable alternatives in an effort by the government to combat the growing problem of plastic waste in both the country and the world.
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs told CNN that the government was “determined to go further and faster to reduce, reuse, and recycle more of our resources.” Although the United Kingdom has already banned some items made of single-use plastic, such as straws, stirrers, and cotton buds, the spokesperson said that the government was “determined to go further and faster.”
The prohibition will also apply to trays designed for single use, balloon sticks, and some varieties of cups and food containers made of polystyrene. People will no longer be allowed to purchase these products at restaurants, retail stores, or from street vendors beginning in the month of October.
According to the spokeswoman for the government, a public consultation was held to discuss potential new regulations regarding plastic in England. There is already a prohibition like this in existence in Scotland, and another one is going to go into effect in Wales the following year.
According to the government, 1.1 billion plates and 4.25 billion pieces of silverware designed for single use are used every year in England. This works out to 20 plates and 75 pieces of cutlery for every individual in the country. The government stated in the consultation document that just 10% of this enormous mountain of plastic is recycled, and they added that plastic cutlery was among the 15 things that were littered the most in the United Kingdom.
According to the findings of recent studies, placing limits on the consumption of plastic goods can be an effective strategy. Following the introduction of legislation in the UK that prohibited the distribution of free plastic bags, the amount of litter found on the seabed off the coast of Britain decreased significantly, according to a report that was published in 2018. The United Kingdom has committed to eradicating all preventable waste associated with plastic by the year 2042, and the most recent ban is comparable to those enacted in other countries.
The summer before last, the European Union passed a ban on the use of single-use plastic for plates, silverware, straws, balloon sticks, and cotton buds. In July of this year, India, the country with the second most people on the planet, became the second nation in the world to prohibit the use of single-use plastic items. These items include straws, cutlery, ear buds, packaging films, plastic sticks for balloons, candy, and ice cream, and cigarette packets. In addition, starting at the end of this month, it will be against the law in Canada to produce and import plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery, and other items made of plastic.
In the month of June, the state of California in the United States enacted sweeping new regulations on single-use plastic, including a requirement that all single-use packaging and plastic single-use food serviceware be recyclable or compostable by the year 2032.
If nations do not take immediate action, the United Nations has warned that the world will face a massive crisis with plastic pollution. According to a report that was issued by the United Nations Environment Program the previous year, the amount of plastic garbage that is entering aquatic environments may nearly treble by the year 2040, reaching as high as 37 million tons per year.
The majority of single-use plastics are sourced from fossil fuels, and these plastics produce emissions at every stage of their lifecycle. This contributes to the acceleration of climate change. Emissions from the production of plastics pose a threat to the world’s ability to limit the rise in average global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius if current production rates are maintained.
At the beginning of this year, the United Nations Environment Assembly passed a historic resolution to put an end to plastic pollution and to construct the world’s first-ever legally enforceable worldwide plastic pollution treaty by the year 2024. This was done in an effort to address the issue.
The action was hailed as a great accomplishment, but reaching a tangible deal will likely be challenging. This is in part because some of the most powerful firms in the world are working hard to wash down any suggestions that are put forward. The American Chemistry Council, which is comprised of companies such as ExxonMobil Chemical Company and Shell, has been active in lobbying against production restrictions and bans, referring to them as “misguided.”