A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE leader who supplies re-usable party kits has backed the government’s plan to ban single-use plastic plates and cutlery in England.
Isabel Mack, from Winchester Village, founded Winchester PartyKit and the global social enterprise PartyKit Network to reduce the amount of single use items being used at parties and improve the environment.
Mrs Mack, 41, was pleased to hear environment secretary Thérèse Coffey announce that the government will ban single-use plastic plates and cutlery in England but feels the change is overdue.
The date of the ban has not yet been confirmed but refers to items such as plastic cutlery, plates and polystyrene trays following similar restrictions enforced in Scotland and Wales.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will be publishing the full consultation on Saturday, January 14.
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Mother of two Isabel, who was named in the Women in Social Enterprise Top 100 List for 2022, said: “It’s great news. It’s been a long time coming and the UK is way behind other countries but it’s nice to get the confirmation that the ban is going ahead.
“It will be interesting to see when the documents come out whether the ban includes bio plastics as there is no clear guidance on whether they are classed as re-usable or how to recycle them.
“We have to move away from our disposable culture, there is no longer an excuse for using single-use plastics at parties and Party Kit provides such a simple change that instantly reduces waste.”
The Winchester not-for-profit organisation, set up in January 2020, supplies three types of party kits including plastic, bamboo and an adult party kit with stainless steel cutlery.
The service covers Winchester, Hursley, Twyford and Colden Common, where the re-usable tableware is delivered before being picked up and washed.
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Mrs Mack said: “When people try to be more eco-friendly the barriers are often a lack of knowledge or alternatives. People often don’t think about us because they don’t realise we’re here.
“When people use us they often say why weren’t we doing this before because it’s such a simple change. The local support and amount of people rehiring has been fantastic.
“It’s always going to be better quality because no one likes a soggy paper plate.”
The company owner estimates that from 61 parties 9,330 single-use plastics including plates, bowls, cups and cutlery were avoided through Party Kit Winchester in 2022. This is an increase from 1,656 in 2021, highlighting the growth of the service
For more go to partykitnetwork.org/partykitwinchester.
There are now 550 Party Kit branches across nine countries within the network founded by the Winchester mother. For anyone looking to set up their own Party Kit, there is a downloadable guide at partykitnetwork.org/join.
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