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<p>On 27 February , the Foreign Secretary announced that the Foreign & Commonwealth
Office (FCO) would eliminate avoidable single-use plastics from its UK operations
by the end of 2018, and from its global operations by 2020. It is the first British
Government Department to announce such a ban. This ambitious target makes the FCO
a leader in the fight against plastic pollution not just in the UK, but globally too.
Since January the FCO has taken steps to remove avoidable single-use plastic from
its UK catering outlets. For example, in its UK canteens, the FCO has switched plastic
cutlery and food packaging and cups to biodegradable alternatives and provided additional
glasses and china mugs to reduce waste. In early April in the UK we introduced a 50p
'latte levy' on single-use coffee cups which has increased the use of reusable cups
from 3% of total hot drinks sales to 46%. In the year to date, our actions have reduced
plastic waste from our UK catering operations by about 40% compared to the same period
last year. We have requested all Heads of Mission overseas take similar action and
are working with our suppliers to further reduce avoidable single-use plastics to
enable us to meet the Foreign Secretary's target.</p>
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