MATERIALS & COMMODITIES
MPs plan plastic tax as Parliament buys 874,075 non-recyclable cups
THE House of Commons purchased 874,075 non-recyclable cups in 2017 alone, according to a recent Freedom of Information request, writes SAMUEL McKEOWN.
With the average disposable/non-disposable cup weighing 11 grams, the cups in total weigh 9,614,825 grams or approximately 9.6 tonnes – the average weight of two kil ler whales.
The news comes comes after Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to introduce a plastic tax to cut waste in January this year.
The single-use cups purchased are predominately cardboard, but have a thin PET plastic inner coating (rather than full polystyrene), meaning they currently cannot be recycled.
“They need to set an example”
Simon Ellin of the Recycling Association, said: “I think we will be seeing a change in this area. I wouldn’t necessarily criticise the government on this as they, along with most other public bodies and major operators, will be undertaking fundamental reviews of how they purchase and handle their own waste – they certainly need to set an example.
“My hope is the government are in this for the long haul, and are not just making the right noises because it’s vogue at the moment.”
The non-recyclable cups were used for take-away hot drinks, and water cups available from our catering venues.
These venues serve over 15,000 parliamentary pass-holders (MPs, Peers, their staff and staff of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, civil servants, external contractors, and journalists), as well as over one million members of the public who visit Parliament each year.
The proposed plastic tax was part of the Commons environmental audit committee, which called for a 25p ‘latte levy’ on throwaway coff ee cups – and a ban if they were not made recyclable within fi ve years.
Government ministers, including Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Aff airs, Michael Gove stated tackling waste is the government’s “top priority”, and championed the success of the 5p plastic-bag charge, which has taken nine billion bags out of circulation.
The plastic crackdown also coincided with ministers’ plans to halt UK ivory trade and increase sentences for animal abusers.
The proposed plastic tax and ethical moves comes after a governmental drive to rebuild the Tory party’s reputation with younger voters, by highlighting green and ethical credentials.
A House of Commons spokesperson said: “The House of Commons is committed to reducing the amount of waste across the parliamentary estate including plastic and operate a mixed recycling scheme to ensure as much as possible of our waste is recycled.”
The chamber’s catering service display signs in the Westminster eateries for visitors to take only the napkins needed.
The service also plan to upgrade the coff ee cups to help limit the practice of doubling-up, done to avoid scalding.
The Westminster catering service came under fl ack recently after it reviewed spending in 2013, buying 500 reusable ‘keep cups’, but only selling four, as of 2017.
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