According to official statistics, each person in England uses an average of 18 single-use plastic plates and 37 plastic cutlery pieces each year. Only 10% of waste is recycled. In a landfill or the ocean, a plastic fork can take up to 200 years to degrade.
Thérèse Coffey, the Environment Secretary, is now planning to prohibit a variety of single-use plastic goods, primarily related to takeout food and drink. She said that the action will save billions of bits of plastic from damaging the environment.
Similar prohibitions have already been implemented in Scotland and Wales, and single-use plastic straws, stirrers, and cotton buds will be prohibited in England beginning in 2020.
This new measure comes after a lengthy consultation, however it does not apply to things found in supermarkets or stores. The government stated that it will address those issues through other ways. Environmentalists applauded the restriction but advocated for a more comprehensive plastic reduction plan.
📙 single-use (adj.) 一次性使用的 📙 plastic plates (n.) 塑膠盤子 📙 plastic cutlery (n.) 塑膠餐具 📙 waste (n.) 垃圾 📙 recycle (v.) 回收 📙 landfill (n.) 垃圾掩埋場 📙 degrade (v.) 退化;分解 📙 Environment Secretary (n.) 環境部長 📙 prohibit (v.) 禁止 📙 takeout food (n.) 外帶食物 📙 prohibition (n.) 禁令 📙 Scotland (n.) 蘇格蘭 📙 Wales (n.) 威爾士 📙 straws (n.) 吸管 📙 stirrers (n.) 攪拌棒 📙 cotton buds (n.) 棉花棒 📙 consultation (n.) 咨詢 📙 supermarkets (n.) 超市 📙 environmentalists (n.) 環保人士 📙 restriction (n.) 限制 📙 reduction (n.) 減少
