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Single-use plastics are now illegal but are chippers and kebab shops still using them? We find out

Scotland's single use plastic ban
Polystyrene takeaway containers like these will soon be a thing of the past if people abide by the new rules. Photo: Shutterstock.

Single-use plastics are now officially illegal in Scotland but a sneak peek around chippers and kebab shops reveal they have not disappeared overnight.

From today, it is unlawful to make or supply single-use plastic cutlery, plates, stirrers, and food containers and cups made of expanded polystyrene.

The Scottish Government said the ban is an important step in the fight against waste.

It was partly-enforced on June 1 but is now fully in place after a loophole was shut.

Rule-breaking businesses now the face the risk of a maximum £5000 fine for not complying.

So who’s abiding by the rules?

A single use expanded polystyrene food container on the ground on Union Street.

We took a walk around and saw five takeaways with piles of the now-banned containers in Aberdeen on Friday lunchtime.

And in Inverness, the outlawed boxes were stacked high on the counter of a kebab shop, with the owner indicating he knew about the ban and saying he was going to be replacing them.

We saw the now-illegal plastic spoons on a swanky cafe’s counter, but we also saw what we had not expected to see…

‘Hopefully my customers will come back’

A pile of plastic take-away boxes overflowing from a bin.
Polystrene take away boxes are one of the items which are now banned. Photo by Shutterstock

We visited one Inverness kebab shop owner who was furious about having to use new, rule-compliant containers a few weeks ago because they cost more.

He now has his counter stacked with the more expensive environmentally-friendly food boxes.

But he had to hike up his prices to soak up the extra cost and his customers are obviously not happy.

“One or two of my regulars walked in the door and then walked out again when they saw the new prices, but what am I supposed to do, it is all costing more,” he said.

“Hopefully they’ll come back.”

‘We’ve all got to do our bit’

Lorraine Comfort, left and Abbi Miller of Comfort Foods Cafe. Inverness.

Also feeling the pinch is Lorraine Comfort who runs the Comfort Foods Café on Church Street, Inverness.

“It is costing me more and these new ones aren’t that good, they don’t close properly for people wanting their doggy bags,” she said.

“But my wee daughter, whose seven, is a wee eco-warrior — I think she wants to be the new David Attenborough — but she’s right, we’ve all got to be doing our bit.”

Lorraine, right, said she’s proud to do her bit to help the environment for her “eco-warrior” daughter.

Fears that people could be fined unfairly

Single use items banned in Scotland
This graphic from Zero Waste Scotland shows what items are banned, with exemptions.

The Scottish Government has banned single-use plastics because they don’t break down naturally and are found in items that are only used once before they are thrown away or recycled.

Businesses have complained they were not properly pre-informed about the new rules.

The Food Packaging Association fears small takeaway shops will be fined for non-compliance through no fault of their own, and it wants multi-language leaflets put round businesses.

A sales manager with pallets of single use plastics
Single-use burger boxes like these are now forbidden in Scotland.

But the Scottish Government insists it gave ample notice via a radio, digital, and email campaign  — and it says surplus stock should be “recycled where possible” – which is very difficult as special facilities which can handle such material are not easy to find.

Who does the enforcement?

It is the responsibility of local authorities to enforce the single use plastics ban.

Councils across the North and north-east said their main approach is to work with businesses to make them aware of the new legislation.

They largely said their officers will monitor compliance during routine food safety inspections, but there are no plans to carry out specific visits unless a complaint has been made.

Read more on the single use plastics ban:

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