Single use plastics

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To reduce the level of plastic waste, the Government introduced the Environmental Protection (Plastic Straws, Cotton Buds and Stirrers) (England) Regulations 2020.

These regulations make it an offence to provide customers with three different types of single-use plastic products: straws, cotton buds and drink stirrers. The regulations treat these different products in slightly varying ways.

It is an offence to sell or supply drink stirrers to end-users and businesses in England. This means that it is an offence for you to be sold plastic drink stirrers by a supplier and for you to supply them to your customers.

It is an offence to sell or supply plastic cotton buds to end-users in England, but they can still be supplied to businesses. This means that you are to purchase plastic cotton buds if you need them for a purpose such as cleaning fixtures and fittings, but it is an offence for you to provide them to your customers.

It is an offence to sell or supply plastic straws to end-users in England, but they can still be supplied to businesses.

However, there is an exemption to this regulation for catering establishments, which includes restaurants, pubs, bars, cafés and hotel dining rooms. If you are providing food and/or drink for immediate consumption, you are allowed to continue to provide customers with single-use plastic straws, provided that:

• The straws are not kept in a place where they are visible to customers;
• The straws are not kept in a place where customers have access to them, and;
• The straws are not offered or provided to customers unless requested by the customer.

This means that you can provide a plastic straw to a customer if they specifically ask for one. You cannot serve a drink with a plastic straw in it, or put a box of straws on a counter for customers to help themselves.

It is also illegal to sell products such as cartons of drink with plastic straws attached.

The regulations are enforced by local authorities, who can inspect premises to ensure that businesses are complying, and are able to levy fines on businesses that are found to be in breach of the regulations.

The ban on single use plastics was expanded in October 2023 with the inclusion of the following products:  

1. Single-use plastic plates, trays and bowls

This includes any item, regardless of the type of plastic (including recycled, compostable and biodegradable plastics) or how much plastic the item contains. For example, if the item is a paper plate with a plastic film to stop liquid penetrating the paper, it will still be banned.

There are two exceptions to this ban:

• Business-to-business sales. If you are supplying another business and not the end consumer, the use of these items is still permitted.
• Packaged food. This is food that is either pre-packaged or packaged at the point of sale, such as a plate filled at the counter of a takeaway.

2. Single-use plastic cutlery

Single-use plastic cutlery includes any item used to consume food, so it includes sporks and chopsticks.

3. Balloon sticks

These are the plastic sticks that attach to the nozzle of a balloon to enable children to carry the balloon.

4. Ready-to-consume food and drink in polystyrene containers

This includes polystyrene boxes for takeaway food (such as fish and chips and burgers), trays provided for food at food stalls, and polystyrene cups used to serve tea, coffee and soup.

There is, however, an exemption for providing food or drink in a polystyrene container if the item needs further preparation before it is consumed. So, for example, raw meat can be provided on a polystyrene tray because it needs to be cooked, and a cup containing coffee granules and sugar can be provided because it needs hot water to be added before it can be consumed.

The ban will be enforced by Local Authority inspectors who will have the power to inspect premises, obtain samples of the items in which the food and drink are being provided, and impose fines for non-compliance. Customers will be able to complain about non-compliance to Trading Standards.