UK Parliament to eliminate their single-use plastic by 2019 with compostable items

In a bid to encourage the public to reduce their plastic pollution, Parliament will eliminate all single-use plastic from their catering services by 2019.

The House of Lords and House of Commons will ensure that plastic waste is reduced by trialling a 25p charge on hot drinks in disposable cups. They have already sold over 1,000 reusable cups.

But by 2019 they aim to be single-use plastic free. They are introducing compostable cutlery, cups and straws to ensure they meet this target.

Parliament have bought 800 bins for the compostable items, which will be sent to a specialist waste facility after use.

Sir Paul Beresford, chairman of the Commons Administration Committee, said: “I'm delighted to see significant progress being made in tackling single use avoidable plastics in Parliament... Our challenging targets reflect Parliament's commitment to leading the way in environmental sustainability.”

In the UK, Theresa May has been reported to be doubling the plastic bag charge to 10p as well as introducing the ban of plastic straws and cotton buds to stop what she termed Britain’s ‘throwaway culture’.

However, environmentalists are demanding for action to happen now.

Emma Priestland, Friends of the Earth plastics campaigner, said: "If we really want to tackle the scourge of plastic pollution, ministers should focus on the phase-out of all non-essential single-use products - whatever type of plastic they are made from."

Parliament also aim to stop selling bottled water and promote greener stationery to fulfil their 2019 target.