Owner of T&A Kebabs says that manufacturers must reduce their plastic packaging in order for the single-use ban to be effective
One Cardiff retailer has revealed that there is not enough wooden, or non-plastic alternatives in stock to comply with the new ban on single-use plastic products in Wales.
The new law, introduced on 30 October, meant that stores had to reduce their single-use plastic stock and source either reusable, or non-plastic alternatives.
Fast food refuse accounted for 20.7% of litter found on the streets of Wales between 2021 and 2022 according to research conducted by Keep Wales Tidy, being an issue the Welsh Government intended to eradicate with the imposed law.
Zaid Akbar, owner of T&A Kebabs on Miskin Street in Cathays, has been affected significantly by the new law. The 53-year-old had to source alternatives of wooden cutlery and cardboard food containers to replace the plastic products he previously used.
However, Akbar has stressed that the single-use plastic ban will only have an impact once his suppliers stop delivering other goods in excessive amounts of plastic.
Akbar said: “It defeats the object doesn’t it? If they stopped it at the source, then plastic would be reduced.
“We need to see a reduction of the manufacturers and suppliers using plastic packaging. And I don’t know how long it will take for that to happen.”, he sighed.
Akbar says that reducing plastic consumption is something we all need to do in order to reduce the impact it has upon our environment, oceans and animals.
“The sooner they come up with something to stop wrapping these goods in plastic, the easier it will be for everyone,” he said.
Phase two of the law will be introduced in 2026, it will also include the ban of plastic single-use carrier bags, polystyrene lids and products made of oxo-degradable plastic.