Despite the SUP ban being in effect for over a year, widespread disregard for the law continues, with some retailers and online marketplaces still selling prohibited items or mislabelling items such as plastic cutlery as reusable to circumvent regulations.
The FPA, which represents a range of foodservice packaging stakeholders, has been actively advocating for stricter enforcement and clarity on the legislation. All FPA members must adhere to the FPA Code of Practice, which requires their businesses to be compliant with all current legislation.
In recent discussions with Defra – including a research interview conducted by the FPA on behalf of the department – the association emphasised the need for more robust action to close loopholes and stop unscrupulous traders openly flouting the regulations. To help deal with the increasing number of breaches, the FPA has also funded a Primary Authority Partnership with Trading Standards.
“Despite being hugely under-resourced, Trading Standards are working hard to support the FPA in this and, encouragingly, our partnership is beginning to show results”, says Martin Kersh, executive director of the FPA. “We are starting to see a small number of listings of banned products being withdrawn. It’s an uphill battle, but it’s critical we do what we can to protect the interests of our members, who are being disadvantaged by these law-breaking operators.”
Latest guidance issued by Defra clarifies the definitions of single-use and reusable products and covers the growing issue of ‘relabelling’. According to the guidance:
· A product is considered single-use if it is not designed or intended for reuse.
· A product is deemed reusable if it can be used safely and easily multiple times for its original purpose, such as being refilled at home or reused by businesses for several rotations.
The guidance goes on to stress that simply relabelling a banned single-use product without making any changes does not make it reusable, and that unchanged single-use products remain banned under the current regulations.
While this clarification is a welcome step forward, the FPA points out that it still leaves room for non-compliance.
“How will Trading Standards prove that a product hasn’t been altered? Devious traders will argue that their plastic cutlery can be reused, even if they know it won’t be”. Kersh argues.
The FPA has proposed products only be classified as reusable if they are part of a formal reuse system – such as one involving deposits or industrial cleaning processes, which is far from feasible for plastic cutlery at this stage.
“Without such systems in place, it’s time to make the use of so-called reusable plastic cutlery illegal whenever it is removed from a foodservice provider’s premises”, adds Kersh.
While the FPA welcomes the updated guidance and the inclusion of a reporting mechanism for businesses breaking the law, the association remains concerned this may not be enough to deter the most determined offenders. “Unfortunately, the door remains ajar for those willing to exploit the loopholes and it is ridiculous a trade association has no option other than to fund a partnership with Trading Standards to get these bans enforced”, Kersh concludes.
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