England and Wales' new single-use plastic regulations, and what it means for your business.

Following in Scotland's footsteps, new regulations have been introduced in England and Wales as of October 2023 regarding certain single-use plastic items. The rules can be confusing at times, so we've broken them down for you to easily understand which single-use plastic items are affected and what the decent packaging sustainable alternatives are.

So, what does this mean for you, as a hospitality business?

• decent packaging Plates, Bowls and Trays are all exempt from these new regulations, as these items are “packaging (pre-filled or filled at the point of sale)” and are not made from PET (plastic) or polystyrene. The ban for any of these items applies when being sold direct to consumers i.e. plastic plates being sold at a supermarket. 
• CPLA Cutlery will no longer be available to purchase from our website, and our Wooden Cutlery is a great alternative.
• Food and drink containers made from polystyrene are banned. decent packaging Hot Cups and Clear Cups do not contain polystyrene therefore are still permitted.

You can read all of these in the government’s guidelines here for England and here for Wales.

More importantly, what does it mean for our environment?

This new ban on single-use polystyrene and plastic items is a positive step toward tackling our country's plastic waste problem and mitigating the hazardous effects on the environment caused by the production of these oil-based materials.

We’re here to help you make the switch to sustainable packaging alternatives. If you have any questions please email us at hello@decentpackaging.co.uk