Council to ban plastic straws and compostable coffee cups

Newcastle City Council is to ban plastics straws and switch to compostable coffee cups in its offices as part of its response to a report by the Newcastle Waste Commission.

Setting out how Newcastle can reduce its waste mountain, the council, which employs, over 6,000 staff, has pledged to reduce single-use plastics by switching to wooden disposable cutlery and re-using platters and provide improved recycling points in all offices. The authority will also investigate replacing plastic cups with recyclable cups in vending machines and send householders flyers with useful recycling information.

It is estimated that the city’s 142,000 tonnes of waste could be reduced by 10 per cent by 2025 and recycling rates improved 23 per cent by 2030 if the report’s ideas are acted upon.

Nick Kemp, cabinet member for Neighbourhoods and Regulation, said: “I would like to thank the Commissioners for their excellent work on this report which has been well received. I would also like to thank the organisations and community groups whose opinions and experiences helped shape the report. One of the things that runs right through it is that dealing with waste is everyone’s responsibility not just the council’s. However, the council is a key influencer in the city and the public would be quite right to ask what is our response to the report. This is what today is all about.”