{"id":129724,"date":"2023-08-01T07:09:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T05:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=129724"},"modified":"2023-07-26T09:01:07","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T07:01:07","slug":"norfolk-bio-products-firm-set-to-be-hit-by-single-use-plastics-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/norfolk-bio-products-firm-set-to-be-hit-by-single-use-plastics-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"Norfolk bio-products firm set to be hit by single-use plastics ban"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Solinatra, based near Norwich, makes compostable single-use alternatives – but they are included in the ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Co-founder Simon Girdlestone says single-use products made by Solinatra will fall foul of the October ban – despite being plant-based. \u00a9<\/strong> Ian Barmer \/ BBC<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The firm received a \u00a3500,000 government grant last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said “all bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics” would be banned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ban comes into force in October<\/a>, spearheaded by Environment Secretary and Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solinatra said its products, such as coffee pods and cutlery, were made from plant-derived materials, rather than fossil fuel-derived materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is now calling for a review.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simon Girdlestone, a co-founder of Solinatra, said the upcoming legislation “doesn’t make sense”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We were expecting a ban on single-use plastics – it’s the whole reason we were developing Solinatra,” he told the BBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The single-use items, including cutlery, are entirely plant-based and compostable. \u00a9<\/strong> Ian Barmer \/ BBC<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

“What we didn’t expect is that we would be caught up and be banned along with fossil-based plastics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We’ve developed a solution that is clean, that is naturally biodegradable, and yet Defra has decided to group us along with the polluting plastics.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the company, which is based at Horsham St Faith, “had to go through a very long process” to win the \u00a3500,000 government funding –\u00a0through Innovate UK<\/a>\u00a0– to develop the very materials that will be banned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The future for the company will probably be outside the UK,” Mr Girdlestone added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is a missed opportunity for Norfolk and for the UK, to create jobs and create an export market.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Candy Richards, of the FSB, told the BBC the “clock was ticking” on getting the government to reconsider the detail of the ban \u00a9<\/strong> Ian Barmer \/ BBC<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Candy Richards, development manager at the FSB, said the federation would call on the government to review the inclusion of biomaterials in the October law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Now the clock is ticking with this ban,” she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are urging the government to engage with organisations like Solinatra so they understand that they are part of the solution, not part of the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The government needs to show its commitment to being at the forefront of sustainable and green technology.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said another FSB member – a company in Wales that produces similar products based on algae – was “offered large financial incentives” to relocate to Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The products – although entirely compostable – are single-use, which are included in the upcoming ban. \u00a9<\/strong> Ian Barmer \/ BBC<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A spokesman for Defra said: “Urgent action is required to stop plastic waste finding its way into the natural environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We have already banned many commonly littered single-use plastic items and are introducing a deposit return scheme for drinks containers, as well as extended producer responsibility for packaging.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department said\u00a0a consultation on the ban<\/a>\u00a0agreed it should cover “all bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics”.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Solinatra, based near Norwich, makes compostable single-use alternatives – but they are included in the ban. The firm received a \u00a3500,000 government grant last year. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said “all bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics” would be banned. The ban comes into force in October, spearheaded by Environment Secretary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"A company that makes biodegradable products says it may have to leave the UK because of an upcoming government ban on single-use plastics","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[5847,5796,21986,14440,15271],"supplier":[12552,859],"class_list":["post-129724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-bioplastics","tag-biotechnology","tag-greentechnology","tag-plasticban","tag-singleuseplastics","supplier-bbc","supplier-department-for-environment-food-and-rural-affairs-defra-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129724\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129724"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=129724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}