Charges could be introduced for coffee cups and wooden cutlery

Consumers could soon be charged to use disposable coffee cups and wooden cutlery in a bid to tackle throwaway culture.

Currently the law that compels supermarkets to charge for bags applies to just plastic products.

However, ministers have now agreed to drop the plastic specification so that the law can be applied in a similar way to non-plastic items.

It means people could be charged extra for single-use items that contain cardboard or wood.

A government source told the Telegraph that no final decisions had been made about applying new charges.

Since the government introduced the plastic bag levy in 2015 the number of bags used per household in a year has decreased from 140 to four.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is actively pursuing a green agenda and on Tuesday announced a new partnership with Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Catalyst.

The partnership is expected to drive an extra £200 million of private sector investment in green power schemes in the UK.

Mr Johnson said the power of consumer choice and the trillions of dollars able to be invested by companies were essential for creating green growth and jobs.

The UK Government has already committed £200 million for the development and demonstration of projects for green hydrogen, long-term energy storage, sustainable aviation fuels and direct air capture of CO2 as part of a £1 billion portfolio of investments.

Later this month world leaders will meet in Glasgow for COP26 in Glasgow where countries will be under pressure to commit to more ambitious climate change targets.

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