01/10/2023
We’re heading in the right direction.. but we still need more single-use items phased out.
What do you think? ♻️
TODAY a new ban on single-use plastic comes into force in England. It includes…
🚫 Single-use plastic plates, bowls and trays
🚫 Single-use plastic cutlery including knives, forks, spoons, sporks and chopsticks
🚫 Plastic balloon sticks
🚫 Polystyrene cups and containers
This is similar to bans already in place in Scotland, the EU and many other countries and states around the world.
The positive impacts of similar bans have been seen quickly (after the plastic-stemmed cotton bud ban, the numbers found on UK beaches dropped by more than half) so this ban is to be celebrated. However I can’t help feeling that we aren’t taking full advantage of this opportunity to make change.
The ban doesn’t include plastic cups or single-use items made from mixed materials, like paper plates. There are also some exceptions such as plastic trays or bowls used in pre-packaged food, which will undoubtedly lead to confusion.
A BBC report on Friday highlighted that many businesses are unaware of the new ban and wholesalers still have stock of items which are now banned.
And I fear that simply banning plastic isn’t enough to cause the shift we need away from our dependency on single-use.
Single-use plastic-free alternatives cost businesses more money and likely have a higher carbon footprint (it takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag than a plastic one). It also doesn’t do anything to tackle our waste crisis.
We need to support more businesses to switch to reusables. Via Upstream, I’ve seen the results of some great pilots in the US to support businesses and universities to make this change. We need to be doing more of this.
Hashtags: