"A great step forward" - Environmentalist praises decision to ban single-use plastics
Litter Free Dorset is backing a ban on plastic cutlery and throwaway plates
An environment agency in Dorset has called the announcement to ban single-use plastics by the end of the year a “great step forward.”
Environment Secretary, Thérèse Coffey proposes to ban items such as plastic cutlery, throwaway plates, polystyrene trays and plastic cups, which means 1.1bn plates and 4.25bn items of cutlery in England will no longer be made each year.
Although the banning of these items has been welcomed by environmentalists, some are still calling for far more to be done.
A spokesperson for Litter Free Dorset, Eimear Coyle believes the decision to ban single-use plastics should come sooner and a target should be less vague than “by the end of the year”.
She said: “I would always be pushing for quicker action but any move that starts to reduce the amount of plastic we are using is fantastic.”
The littering of single-use plastics is particularly prominent in Dorset and comes to the forefront of conversation during the summer, Eimear added: “the summer is the time to really step up the action.”
In 2020, 425 littered items of plastic were found on every 100-meter stretch of beach with BCP Council spending £1 million per year removing waste from its beaches.
BCP Council said: “Coastal councils such as ourselves work continuously to remove litter and care for our beaches. The single-use, throw-away model means it is increasingly difficult for people to make environmentally sound choices.”
According to DEFRA, each person uses 18 single-use plastic plates and 37 single-use plastic items of cutlery each year in England.
Every piece of plastic ever made still exists and will continue to exist for another 500 years. Eimear noted that “plastic litter ends up killing more than 1 million birds 100,000 sea mammals and turtles.”
Litter Free Dorset urges people to take their own reusable coffee cups, water bottles and, if they are having a takeaway at the beach, to take their own Tupperware and metal cutlery.
Thérèse Coffey said: “This new ban will have a huge impact to stop the pollution of billions of pieces of plastics and help to protect the natural environment for future generations.”