The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has joined the call for an urgent ban on single-use plastic pint cups, following support by MPs of A Plastic Planet's 'Plastic Free Pint' campaign in July. 

The campaign seeks an outright ban on plastic pint cups such as those used during music festivals and live sporting events.

Sian Sutherland, Co-Founder of A Plastic Planet, believes the Government must extend its single-use plastics ban to include plastic pint cups. 

The ban seeks to end the impact of problematic and highly polluting plastic items and currently covers plastic straws, drinks stirrers, and cotton buds. It is expected to be expanded to include plastic cutlery, plates and polystyrene cups, as well as plastic sachets.

Commenting on the campaign, CAMRA National Chairman, Nik Antona said: “CAMRA supports the campaign for a plastic free pint. With 75% of consumers agreeing that plastic ruins the taste of beer, we’d like to see Government not only ban single use plastic pint cups, but also support the development and adoption of solutions for a better pint.

"Any event or venue serving alcohol in the UK is required to consider public safety, and some Licensing Authorities currently require the use of plastic or polycarbonate cups as an alternative to glass. It’s therefore vital that Local Authorities amend licensing conditions to include a wider range of materials, so that the trade can protect consumers and the environment.

"There are countless innovators in the pub and beer trade who are working to produce alternatives to plastic pints, which CAMRA will continue to promote as part of our ‘Drink Greener’ campaign.”

Further support has come from more than 20 cross-party MPs in an Early Day Motion submitted to Parliament.

Globally 500 billion plastic cups are used each year. If lined up end-to-end these cups would span 50 million kilometres – or more than 130 trips from the Earth to the Moon. In the UK, some 100 million plastic cups are used annually during music festivals and live sporting events. Plastic pint cups are the sixth-most commonly found plastic item in Britain’s rivers, and the eighth on the nation’s beaches, and MPs warned that these pint cups are ‘single-use items that will end up in landfill, in incinerators or directly in our natural environments’.

Yonder polling conducted in April found 89 percent of Britons want plastic pint cups banned in a bid to protect the environment and some 75 percent of respondents also believe plastic pint cups ‘cheapen the experience’ of their favourite beer. The polling coincided with an open letter signed by parliamentarians and figures from the beer and live entertainment industry urging the Government to outlaw plastic pint cups.

For more information visit www.aplasticplanet.com.

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