Ban on polystyrene food boxes may be coming...

Takeaway boxes and cups made from expanded polystyrene are proposed to be banned as the Government targets rarely recycled plastic that ends up in incinerators and landfill sites.

The ban will force thousands of takeaway food outlets to use packaging made from alternative materials which may be more expensive or less effective at keeping food warm.

Hundreds of millions of boxes and cups made from expanded polystyrene are used in the UK each year but very few are apparently recycled because they are difficult to collect and often contaminated with food and drink.

The Government confirmed last week it would ban plastic items including straws, plates and cotton buds but the polystyrene ban would be the first time a specific polymer has been targeted. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) last week sought tenders for a research contract to assess “the economic impacts of a potential ban on expanded polystyrene food and beverage containers”.