Plastic cutlery, plates and trays are set to finally be banned in England this year after Tory ministers were accused of dragging their feet.
Environment Secretary Therese Coffey will announce plans next Saturday to outlaw many of the most commonly littered single-use plastics.
The ban is also expected to include balloon sticks, and certain types of polystyrene cups and food cartons.
Ms Coffey said it would have a “huge impact”, telling the Mail on Sunday: “A plastic fork can take 200 years to decompose – that is two centuries in landfill or polluting our oceans.”
The change - reportedly due to come into force in October - will be announced almost a year after the government finished a consultation into the ban.
Scotland’s ban on many single-use plastics came into force last June. The Welsh government laid out its own ban in a Bill in September.
Single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds have already been banned in England since October 2020.
Like that ban, the new one will have some exemptions. It is not expected to cover packaging for takeaway food and drink in supermarkets or shops, which is covered by different rules.
It’s thought 4.25billion items of single-use cutlery are used every year in England.
