From:FoodBev Media

A group of influential chefs and food experts have called on the Mayor of London to introduce a ban on the use of “environmentally damaging” polystyrene.

Ed Baines – founder of seafood restaurant Randall & Aubin’s – is joined by co-signatories Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Theo Randall, Mark Hix and food critic William Sitwell in calling on Sadiq Khan to outlaw the use of polystyrene packaging across the capital.

The group claimed that the widespread use of polystyrene contributes to London’s poor recycling performance and outlined their concerns about the “damaging” impact that the non-biodegradable material has on the environment. Polystyrene is extremely difficult and expensive to recycle, which means that millions of tonnes of the material ends up in landfill sites every year. Packaging made from polystyrene never biodegrades, pollutes waterways, and is manufactured from chemicals like styrene, the chefs said.

"I feel an obligation to take the lead from more progressive cities of the world such as San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC and call on you as the Mayor of London to introduce a ban on this unsightly and environmentally damaging method of packaging.

Ed Baines"

If their calls were heeded, London would join a line of American cities – including, most recently, San Francisco – to have banned the material.

Recyclable, paper-based alternatives to polystyrene such as solid board packaging have increasingly been adopted by chefs and suppliers throughout the UK and Europe seeking to improve their environmental performance, in anticipation of similar legislation.

Ed Baines said: “As a chef committed to sustainability and food provenance, I am very concerned about the use of harmful packaging materials such as polystyrene throughout London. Not only are the mountains of polystyrene waste environmentally damaging and unsightly, it has also been shown to be harmful to health.

“We should be doing everything we can to get Londoners to use safer, environmentally friendly recyclable packaging.”