According to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), people living in England use 2.7 billion single-use plastic cutlery items and 721 million single-use plates every year, with only 10 per cent of them being recycled.

From Sunday, businesses will be banned from using various items in England, while the supply of single-use plastic plates, trays and bowls has also been restricted.

Plastic pollution typically takes hundreds of years to break down, inflicts environmental damage and spreads microplastics, which could be harmful to human health.

“This new ban is the next big step in our mission to crack down on harmful plastic waste. It will protect the environment and help to cut litter – stopping plastic pollution from dirtying our streets and threatening our wildlife,” said environment minister Rebecca Pow.

“This builds on world-leading bans on straws, stirrers and cotton buds, our single-use carrier bag charge and our plastic...