Trading
Standards is reminding businesses, such as takeaways, sandwich bars, care
homes and retailers who supply certain single use plastic items, that a ban
comes into force this October and they should start thinking now about
alternatives and where to source them from.
The Government has announced
a ban on a wide range of plastic items that is expected to come into effect
from 1 October 2023.
It means that from October,
businesses across England will not be able to supply certain single use
plastic items to the end user.
The ban includes all single
use plastic cutlery, trays, plates, bowls, and balloon sticks, as well as
banning the use of certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers used
to supply food which is ready to consume.
From October, members of the public won’t be supplied
these products from any business - this includes retailers, takeaways, food
vendors and the hospitality industry and the banwill apply to online and over-the-counter sales.
The ban includes the supply
of items by businesses from new and existing stock and will cover all types
of single-use plastic – including biodegradable, compostable, recycled and
items wholly or partly made from plastic, including the coating or lining.
Businesses who continue to
supply single use plastic items after the legislation comes into effect could
be given a fine.
You can read more about this
change and exemptions to it in guidance
published by The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
(DEFRA) If you have any questions about the what the new rules mean for your business, contact Plastics.Consultation@defra.gov.uk
It is estimated that England
uses 2.7 billion items of single use cutlery each year, and 721 million
single use plates. Only 10% of these items are recycled.
Certain plastic items, such as straws stirrers and cotton buds,
have already been banned.
Plastic pollution takes hundreds of years to break down and
inflicts serious damage to our oceans, rivers, and land. It is also a major
source of greenhouse gas emissions, from the production and manufacture of
the plastic itself to the way it is disposed.
It is expected that banning these items will have a significant
impact on reducing plastic waste and littering in England. Plastic cutlery,
for instance, was in the top 15 most littered items in the country by count
in 2020.
Businesses could:
- Swap plastic for
bamboo or wooden cutlery for takeaway food
- Swap plastic for
metal cutlery for inhouse guests
- Swap single use
plastic plates or bows to re-usable alternatives that can be washed.
- Offer paper
plates instead of plastic
- Offer to refill
customers’ water bottles or travel cups.
- Encourage
customers to bring their own clean containers for takeaway food.
Rachael
Holden, Group Manager Business Support, and Innovation for Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service said:
“Businesses
should use up existing stock and find alternatives to single-use items. For
instance, reusing plates, bowls and cutlery, or sourcing alternative single
use items such as wood-based cutlery and paper-based plates.”
“It may be that you need to
look for alternative suppliers and we advise that you start looking now if
you haven’t already done so to ensure that your business is prepared when the
new rules come into effect.”
|