The UK has decided to ban the sale of single-use plastic utensils

The measure comes into effect in October and aims to ‘reduce pollution in seas, rivers and land’.

Reproduction/ PixabeThe government wants to reduce sea, river and land pollution

Sale of single-use plastic plates, cutlery and other utensils will be banned UK This Saturday (local date), the British Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced plans to reduce pollution in seas, rivers and land starting in October. Authorities gave companies ten months to comply with the new regulations, which will affect utensils such as plastic plates and bowls, as well as some types of styrofoam cups and food containers. Each year, 2.7 billion disposable tableware, mostly plastic, and 721 million plates are used. England, of which only 10% is recycled, according to government data. Starting in October, retailers, restaurants, bars, home delivery companies and other businesses will have to adapt to the ban. Plastic waste takes hundreds of years to decompose and causes serious damage to the ecosystem, the British government has stressed in a statement. Its production is one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse effect. Environment Minister Therese Coffey said: “We all know the absolutely devastating effects plastic can have on the environment and wildlife. We have asked the public and this new ban on single-use plastics is a continuation of our important work to protect the environment for future generations.”

The executive described 95% of respondents who took part in a consultation on the measure as supporting a veto. Eco system Green peace and demanded an ambitious strategy. “Banning individual products makes good headlines for the government, but it won’t eliminate the amount of plastic the UK produces each year,” Greenpeace UK’s plastics campaign manager Nina Schrank said in a statement. The organization is calling for legislation mandating supermarkets to provide their customers with reusable packaging, a system to return used bottles and a system to stop exporting waste overseas. The government already banned the use of plastic microbeads in cosmetics in 2018, while banning single-use straws and plastic cotton buds in 2020.

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*With information from EFE