Consultation on proposals to ban commonly littered single-use plastic items in England

The government is seeking views on banning the supply of single-use plastic plates, cutlery, balloon sticks, and expanded and extruded polystyrene cups and food and beverage containers in England.

The consultation seeks views on the potential environmental impacts of substitute items, additional costs or constraints to business resulting from a ban, the impact on the price of non-plastic alternatives as the scale of production of these items increases, and predictions and views on the impact of a ban on consumers.

These items have been selected as they are deemed to be either commonly littered, not commonly recycled, or both. The document outlines that current estimates suggest that only 10% of single-use plastic plates and cutlery are recycled upon disposal. And that plastic cutlery items were in the top 15 most littered items by count in Defra’s 2020 Litter Composition Report. 

The consultation outlines that a ban was chosen as the policy measure to ensure the desired change and associated environmental benefits are felt quickly and to ensure that these are sustained into the future. The document outlines that government’s understanding is that there are viable alternatives to these items.

A single-use plastic product is defined as ‘a product made wholly or partly from plastic, not conceived, designed, or placed on the market to accomplish multiple trips or rotations by being returned to a producer for refill or re-used for the same purpose for which it was conceived.’

The proposed definition of plastic is ‘a material consisting of polymer to which additives or other substances may have been added, and which can function as a main structural component of final products, with the exception of natural polymers that have not been chemically modified.’

To share your views and contribute to the IOM3 response to this consultation, please contact Rachel using the button below.