In England, single-use plastics are replacing never-use plastics.

The good news for the environment in England is bad news for those who have to clean up after a child’s birthday party.

The Environment Secretary, Thérèse Coffey, issued a press release on Saturday announcing the ban on a variety of single-use plastics beginning in October 2023 in England. These plastics include plates, trays, bowls, cutlery, balloon sticks, and other polystyrene cups and food containers.

Coffey said in a statement, “We have listened to the public and these new single-use plastics bans will continue our vital work to protect the environment for future generations.” She added that she is “proud” of the work she has already done to help the environment, such as limiting the use of plastic straws and stirrers and banning microbeads.

According to an estimate cited by the environment ministry, England uses approximately 2.7 billion single-use cutlery items and 721 million single-use plates annually, but only one in ten are recycled. Earthday.org reports that since the pandemic began, the amount of plastic that is only used once has increased by threefold worldwide. These plastics end up in rivers, lakes, and oceans, accumulating on land, and becoming significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.

“Plastic is a scourge which blights our streets and beautiful countryside and I am determined that we shift away from a single-use culture,” Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said in a statement. “By introducing a ban later this year we are doubling down on our commitment to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste.”

Similar legislation has been passed in Wales and Scotland, and the United Nations is working on a global treaty to combat plastic pollution. By 2032, the United States intends to outlaw the sale of single-use plastic on public lands and national parks. However, the nation has not yet enacted legislation that is comparable to England’s that outlaws single-use plastic.

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The declines in our wildlife is shocking and frightening. Without much more support, many of the animals we know and love will continue in their declines towards extinction.

When you help to restore a patch of degraded land through rewilding to forests, meadows, or wetlands, you have a massive impact on the biodiversity at a local level. You give animals a home and food that they otherwise would not have had, and it has a positive snowball effect for the food chain.

We are convinced that this is much better for the UK than growing lots of fast-growing coniferous trees, solely to remove carbon, that don’t actually help our animals to thrive.

This is why we stand for restoring nature in the UK through responsible rewilding. For us, it is the right thing to do. Let’s do what’s right for nature!

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