Food Packaging Legislation: UK SUP Ban Summary

In January 2023, it was announced that single-use plastic cutlery, plates and other items will be banned in the UK from October 2023 and replaced by biodegradable items as the government aims to tackle not just the country’s but the world’s growing plastic waste problem.

The decision to implement this SUP ban came after a thorough examination of the alarming statistics surrounding single-use plastic consumption in England. The government's research revealed that England alone uses a staggering 1.1 billion single-use plates and 4.25 billion items of single-use cutlery annually. To put this into perspective, it amounts to approximately 20 plates and 75 pieces of cutlery per person. Regrettably, only 10% of this colossal plastic waste currently gets recycled, leading to significant environmental issues. Notably, plastic cutlery emerged as one of the 15 most commonly littered items in the UK. Click HERE to read more.

Since the UK's departure from the EU, the various nations within the United Kingdom have adopted distinct approaches in their efforts to eliminate single-use plastics. While Northern Ireland has integrated parts of the EU Directive into its law through the Northern Ireland Protocol, both Scotland and Wales have chosen to align their restrictions with the EU Directive but have not explicitly linked them.

You can read more about the UK and devolved nation's SUP policies HERE.

 

• England is the latest UK nation to announce legislation on SUP’s (subject to completion of parliamentary processes) this will result in the ban of single-use plastic plates, trays, bowls, cutlery, balloon sticks, expanded and extruded polystyrene food and drinks containers, including cups, in England from October 2023.

• In 2022 England held a consultation on proposals to ban commonly littered single-use plastic items in England, click HERE to read more.

• Click HERE to read the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs press release and click HERE for the summary of responses and government response.

• Click HERE to read our article on UK legislation introduced to limit the use of plastic straws since 2020.

 

• In December 2022 the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Wales) Bill was passed by the Senedd. Click HERE to access the bill.

• This followed a consultation process which you can read more about HERE.

• The Wales policy is similar to that of the EU Directive and is planned to take affect from autumn 2023, you can find out more about the EU Directive by reading our article HERE.

• A key difference between the Wales policy and that of other UK nations is that the draft Wales bill mentions banning all polystyrene lids for cups or takeaway food containers. Alternatives to polystyrene lids include Paper, Bagasse and other more sustainable forms of Plastic such as PET.

 

• From August 12th 2022, Scotland has implemented many of the same bans as the EU Single Use Plastics Directive, to read the Scottish guidance click HERE.

• This ban includes Polystyrene cups, a great sustainable alternative is to use our paper cups instead.

• Polystyrene takeaway containers are also included in the ban, instead us our paper or bagasse ranges.

• Plastic cutlery is no longer allowed so opt for our wooden range made from Birchwood.

 

• Since January 1st 2022, Northern Ireland has implemented parts of the EU Single Use Plastics Directive, as part of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

• This follows a Consultation for the Reduction of Single-Use Plastic Beverage Cups and Food Containers held in 2021. Click HERE to read more.

• This has meant that paper cups sold within Northern Ireland need to display EU turtle logo with ‘plastic in product’ warning. Find out more about the EU Directive on SUP HERE.

EU SUPD Compliant Cups