Plastic picnic plates, knives and forks face a ban in new eco-crackdown

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PLASTIC picnic plates, knives and forks face a ban in a new crackdown.

The move is part of green plans by ministers to make us all more eco-friendly.

Plastic picnic plates, knives and forks face a ban in a new eco-crackdown

Plastic cotton buds, stirrers and straws are already outlawed.

HOAR revealed this month that the Government wants to ban plastic cutlery from takeaway outlets and replace them with wooden implements before November’s COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.

Now it is extending that to picnic utensils. The average person uses 18 single-use plastic plates and 37 items of cutlery every year in England alone.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said yesterday: “We’ve all seen the damage that plastic does to our environment. It is right that we put in place measures that will tackle the plastic carelessly strewn across our parks and green spaces and washed up on beaches.

“Now we are looking to go a step further as we build back greener. These plans will help us stamp out the unnecessary use of plastics that wreak havoc with our natural environment.”

Plastic waste can last for centuries in landfill, or clog up our beaches and oceans.

Every year more than one million birds and in excess of 100,000 sea mammals die from eating or getting tangled up in plastic waste.

The news comes as it was revealed almost half of primary school children think single use plastic takeaway containers and plastic bags should be banned.

And two in three think their parents could be doing more to reduce waste, according to the Milk & More research.

A third of kids also want to ban free small plastic toys in magazines or fast food meals.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said the Government is looking at further steps to make Britain greener