Shops and fast-food outlets will to have stop using single-use plastics from Sunday (1 October) the government confirmed today.
Specifically, cutlery, balloon sticks or polystyrene cups and food containers in England are banned while single-use plastic plates, trays and bowls are being restricted.
People in England use 2.7 billion items of mostly plastic single-use cutlery and 721 million single-use plates every year, with recycling rates as low as 10%.
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: "This new ban is the next big step in our mission to crack down on harmful plastic waste. It will protect the environment and help to cut litter – stopping plastic pollution dirtying our streets and threatening our wildlife.
"This builds on world-leading bans on straws, stirrers and cotton buds, our single-use carrier bag charge and our plastic packaging tax, helping us on our journey to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042."
Pre-packaged plastic plates, trays and bowls in pre-packaged food on shelves are not affected as they come under a scheme to encourage producers to use less packaging.
UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: "Hospitality businesses have made huge strides in reducing their plastic usage and that progress has resulted in the vast majority of venues already eliminating single-use cutlery from their operations.”