The nationwide ban on single-use plastics has made its way to Swindon, as takeaways say your order will start looking a little different.

The new ban, which came into force on October 1, 2023, prevents businesses and food companies from using single use plastic items such as polystyrene cups, plastic cutlery and more.

This is because England uses about 2.7 billion items of single-use cutlery, mostly plastic, a year, and 721 million single-use plates, according to estimates by the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs.

The new ban is unlikely to affect your supermarket meal-deal, as items that are pre-packaged at the point of sale such as a ready meal or sandwich, are excluded from the ban.

It also does not include wet wipes or sachets.

However, the ban is having a huge effect on food takeaways, who have previously used single-use plastic tubs and boxes as a spill-free way of transporting food.

I went to speak to some of Swindon's takeaways, to find out what changes they’re making to avoid a hefty government fine.

Swindon Kebab House on Manchester Road is one of the many takeaways that has been forced to give up plastic takeaway boxes and swap them out for new fully recyclable boxes.

“I’m not exactly sure what they’re made out of but they’re a lot more expensive than the ones from before” revealed Enzo from Swindon Kebab House.

“They’re easy to use though and a lot stronger than the ones we used to have.

“It’s only been a couple of days since we started using them, but no one has really commented on the change so far. I think they care more about the food than the box it comes in, to be honest,” he told The Adver.

Swindon Rendezvous, which specialises in Chinese food, is also one of the many takeaways affected. Workers at the Chinese restaurant said they have had to swap out their usual plastic containers for fully recyclable boxes, similar to the Kebab House.

However, many chains such as Domino's Pizza and McDonalds say they are unaffected.

A spokesperson for McDonalds said: "This particular ban, which comes into effect next week, doesn’t apply to any of our packaging including the lids for our cups."

Andrew Crook, deputy chair of the British Takeaway Campaign, has suggested that while this new ban is great for the environment, it could be disastrous for prices.

He believes that takeaways will become more expensive when small companies are forced to spend more on packaging.

Despite this fear, takeaways we contacted in Swindon did not indicate that their prices had risen due to the current ban.