Queen Elizabeth II has declared war β on plastic β with a new waste plan put into place across the royal estates.
The environmentally-conscious move was said to be inspired by nature documentarian and naturalist Sir David Attenborough, after the pair worked together on a documentary about wildlife in the Commonwealth, according toΒ Β The TelegraphΒ .
A spokesman for the Palace said, βAcross the organisation, the royal household is committed to reducing its environmental impact.
βAs part of that, we have taken a number of practical steps to cut back on the use of plastics,β he said.
These steps would include phasing out plastic straws in public cafes and banning them completely from staff dining areas.
Royal cafe takeaway food containers will now be compostable or biodegradable, while those working and living within Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh will only be able to use crockery and glasses, or recyclable cups.
The initiative comes after the EU announced plans to make all plastic in Europe recyclable or reusable by 2030.
The Queenβs stance follows that of her son Prince Charles, who often talks about environmental issues, including the damage plastic garbage is doing to the oceans.
Last year he said climate change was βcatastrophically underestimatedβΒ and urged that world leaders act urgently to protect our marine environments.
Prince Charles has a long history of environmental advocacy and established the International Sustainability Unit in 2010 to address major environmental challenges across the globe including marine degradation, deforestation and animal conservation.
He has even weighed in on the degradation of the Great Barrier Reef, saying: βThe fact that significant portions of the Great Barrier Reef on Australiaβs eastern coast have been severely degraded or lost over the last few years is both a tragedy and also, I would have thought, a very serious wakeup call,β he said.
According to Cleanup.org.au, an estimated 1 trillion plastic bags are used and discarded worldwide each year β and many of those bags are only used once.
Australians alone use around 5 billion plastic bags a year β with some 50 million entering the litter stream.
Single-use bags will soon be banned across all states and territories in Australia, except NSW. Meanwhile, major supermarkets β Coles, Woolworths and IGA β have already announced they will phase out single-use plastic bags this year.
Source:Β Renew Economy
