Wagamama, Pret a Manger and Costa have all announced they will stop offering plastic straws to customers whilst Waitrose and Morrisons have said they will stop selling them.
As part of our ongoing commitment to reducing waste & increasing #Recycling we are removing plastic straws from our stores. We will launch a non-plastic alternative straw this year as part of an on-going review into all our packaging & takeaway cups ♻️
— Costa Coffee (@CostaCoffee) January 17, 2018
disposal of single-use plastic is causing damage to our planet. so, we’re asking you to turn your slurp into a sip. we will no longer be serving drinks with straws, with the exception of fresh juices, which from earth day this year will be served with biodegradable paper straws pic.twitter.com/rXCAgxISOD
— wagamama uk (@wagamama_uk) January 18, 2018
Trade organisation Plastics Europe says that the UK uses 3.7 million tonnes of plastic a year.
A study by Eunomia Research & Consulting estimates that EU countries use 36.4 billon straws each year.
Waitrose has also announced they will stop selling packs of disposable straws from September 2018. Plastic straws will be replaced by non-plastic alternatives.
The supermarket is also reducing its reliance on black plastic trays with the ultimate aim of no longer using them. Waste processors find it difficult to detect the black plastic which means that they are difficult to recycle. From the end of 2018 all Waitrose own-label meat, fish and fruit and veg will no longer be in black trays. The supermarket has already removed 65% of black plastic packaging from fresh fruit and vegetables.
Waitrose is committed to making all its own-label packaging widely recyclable (using the widely recycled logo), reusable, or home compostable by 2025. Since 2009 it has reduced its overall packaging by nearly 50%.
Tor Harris, Head of Sustainability and Responsible Sourcing at Waitrose, said: ‘‘Phasing out packs of single use straws and black trays shows how seriously we are taking the challenge of cutting down our use of plastics and reducing our impact on the environment.’’
It is great to see so many big UK businesses seizing the iniative.
Links
https://groceries.morrisons.com/webshop/startWebshop.do
https://www.recyclenow.com/recycling-knowledge/packaging-symbols-explained