Plastic ban: sustainability sector’s ‘key priority’

The ban, announced on 8 January,​​​ will help protect the natural environment for future generations, according to environment secretary Thérèse Coffey. 

UKH chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “Sustainability is a priority for the hospitality sector, with UKH committed to the industry-wide goal of reaching net zero by 2040, which includes completely eliminating single-use plastics.”

She said hospitality venues had already made huge strides in moving away from single-use plastics and using greener alternatives, but there were concerns over the practicalities of some elements of the proposed ban for venues that offer both eat-in and takeaway services.

A reported 1.1bn single-use plates, and 4bn pieces of plastic cutlery end up in landfill every year.

That the Government had listened to UKH’s concerns about this and widened its packaging exemption to include these hybrid operators was “positive news”, according to Nicholls.

Gov support

She added: “What this exemption offers is further time for alternative markets of sustainable packaging to develop, which will allow businesses to go even further in their green initiatives when viable and affordable alternatives are more readily available.”

A spokesperson for the British Institute of Innkeeping said​ its many of its members had already moved from using single use plastics as part of their overall commitment to protecting the environment, helped by the wider availability of sustainable containers and packaging.

“However,” the spokesperson added, “there may be an increased cost associated with this ban, which comes at a time where our nations’ pubs are under a huge amount of financial pressure.

“Any support the Government could offer, particularly for smaller businesses, would be welcome."

Promising steps

Commercial director of off-trade brewery Pinter Cecelia Goodall said the ban of single-use cutlery, plates and trays was a promising step in the right direction.

However, she believed the ban had disregarded a huge proportion of single-use waste in the food and beverage sector like plastic cups, bottles and cans.

Something has to change within the beverage industry to cause a dramatic reduction in waste, according to Goodall.