Finding Alternatives to Plastic Food Packaging Ahead of 2023 UK Plastic Ban

Over 100 countries around the world now have a partial or full plastic ban on single-use plastic. The UK is doing its part by banning most single-use plastic beginning in October 2023, giving businesses time to prepare for the transition.

Don't delay. Now is the time to find alternative packaging solutions for your business. If your business uses plastic in any form, there are many alternative options available to you.

Looking for sustainable and plastic-free packaging, serving containers, and bags?

Let us help you discover the plethora of items to choose from. Keep reading to get ahead of the UK plastic ban and get your business up-to-date with sustainable and environmentally-friendly food to go packaging.

What is single-use plastic? 

Single-use plastics are designed for immediate disposal, often within minutes of use. This category includes ubiquitous items like bottles, wrappers, straws, and bags. Despite some essential applications, such as medical gloves and disability aids, a significant portion of single-use plastics, especially plastic packaging, contributes to environmental issues. Recent awareness and initiatives aim to curb the use and disposal of these plastics, driven by concerns about plastic waste's impact on ecosystems and oceans.

What Is Included in the UK Single-Use Plastic Ban?

It is estimated that people in the UK use 5 million tons of plastic annually, half of which is used in packaging products, single-use plates, and cutlery. This ban will help reduce plastic waste not only in our country but around the world. However, a reduction in the use of plastic products will mean a big transition for many UK businesses.

The single-use plastic ban will affect most UK businesses including retailers, food vendors, hospitality services, and takeaway food services. Some of the items that will need to be replaced include:

Some of the single-use plastics examples to be replaced include:

- Plastic plates
- Plastic Bowls
- Plastic Trays
- Plastic Cutlery
- Polystyrene Cups
- Polystyrene Food containers

How to prepare for the ban?

- Use up existing stock before 1 October
- Find re-usable alternatives to single-use items
- Use different materials for single-use items

Sustainable Materials for Food Packaging

With plastic and polystyrene food packaging on the way out, new innovative and sustainable packaging materials are on the rise. Here at Enviropack, we focus on environmentally friendly packaging materials and are constantly offering new and affordable options to our lineup.

Our product mission includes:

- Paper and board from 100% plantation forests managed by reputable material suppliers
- Investigation and research into new, alternative renewable materials
- Working with waste management and resource recovery resources
- Sustainability in manufacturing

Product Materials

Many of our products are compostable, recyclable, or biodegradable, and come from renewable or sustainable resources. The materials offered are perfect packaging alternatives that will make your transition to plastic-free service an easy one. Some of the product materials we offer are:

- Bagasse
- Bamboo
- Birchwood
- Paper
- Paperboard
- Palm Leaf
- PET-Plastic (Recyclable Code 1)
- PLA (made from plants and other renewable resources)
- RPET clear bottles

Single-use Plastic Food Packaging Alternatives

With 95% of the population in favour of the single-use plastic ban, we can all take on this challenge together! Many quality food packaging alternatives are environmentally friendly and affordable. Let's take a closer look at the options.

Plates

When it comes to plates, vendors will be looking to switch out plates from plastic or polystyrene. Plates need to be sturdy enough to withstand moist, wet, or sometimes even greasy foods.

We offer compostable plate options made from sugarcane bagasse or palm leaf. Plates come in a wide range of sizes, circular, square or rectangular shapes and some feature multiple compartments.

Bowls

Do you serve foods that are more suited to bowls than plates? Perhaps you offer oatmeal, poke bowls, curry dishes, and the like. For an excellent presentation and stackability, choose from our wide range of bowls with accompanying lids.

Salad Containers

Whether you serve Buddha bowls, salad bowls, couscous dishes, or crudité and charcuterie trays, we have the salad containers and trays for your business.

Choose from containers of various shapes, sizes, and depths with accompanying lids, depending on your needs. We offer a variety of salad containers that are made from sustainable materials like  bagasse or paperboard.

Cutlery

When it comes to sustainability, throwaway cutlery has always been a big issue. Thanks to advancements in sustainable materials, we now offer compostable cutlery options made from biodegradable wood, bamboo, and paper. These are great alternatives to source once the plastic cutlery ban is in place.

Among our sustainable cutlery options are cases of single units or individually-wrapped sets.

Cups and Accessories

With polystyrene cups on the way out, businesses can choose from various kraft or paper cups. For coffee cups, we offer single-wall coffee cups, double-wall coffee cups, and ripple cups.

Also available are compostable cups made out of PLA—made from plants and other renewable resources. These are ideal for cold drinks, smoothies, and juices.

Along with the various cups, we also offer eco-friendly accessories to pair with the cups such as lids, stirrers, sugar sticks and carriers.

Fish & Chip/Burger Boxes

There was a time when we couldn't imagine our burgers being packaged in anything other than polystyrene or plastic containers. We now offer boxes to package even the juiciest and messiest of burgers!

Check out our burger boxes, made with either bagasse or kraft paperboard. We also offer the perfect containers for serving side orders of chips.

Custom Branding

While you are making the change to plastic-free packaging for your business, you should also consider custom branding.

We offer custom branding and printing on your packaging, allowing you to display your business's brand or logo, so you can stand out from the competition. Branded takeaway boxes also give you the benefit of reliable advertising on the go!

The best part? It's affordable, too.

What is the Custom Branding Process?

Adding customised branding is a simple process that reaps benefits for your business. Here are the simple steps:

1. Submit your brand artwork or logo
2. We process your request and send the final approval
3. Printing and production of your order commence
4. Delivery of your order

Order Samples

You might be unsure of what packaging sizes or materials are best to replace the ones you are currently using.

Not to worry! We offer samples to try out our product range prior to placing an order. If you need some guidance before choosing your samples, you can always reach one of our customer service representatives to help you decide.

Fill out your sample order form to get started today.

Let Us Help You Get Your Business Ready

The UK plastic ban begins on 1st October 2023. Now is the time to get your business ready for the transition to a plastic-free business model. Let us help you get started!

Here at Enviropack, we specialise in environmentally friendly packaging, offering a wide range of compostable, recyclable, and biodegradable packaging sourced from ethical and sustainable sources. Discover our environmental mission and check out our full product line to get your business ready for the single-use plastic ban.