A new range of plant-based compostable products will be introduced, including certified compostable single-use cutlery, coffee cups and lids, soup containers, takeaway food containers, salad boxes, and drinking straws.

New waste bins will be introduced to capture used compostable items, which will then be sent to a specialist waste facility. An in-vessel composting method will use a combination of heat and microbes to turn the waste into compost fit for any garden. Food waste is already captured separately and sent to an anaerobic digestion facility to produce biofertilizer and methane gas for energy generation.

Compostable products are just one of several measures announced earlier this year with the ambitious aim of eliminating single-use avoidable plastics from both Houses by 2019. The first phase of the plan saw the introduction of re-usable coffee cups in June this year, with more than a thousand cups already sold to MPs, Peers, visitors, and staff working in Parliament. The roll-out of the new range in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords will be complete by October and is expected to result in a dramatic reduction in single-use plastics in Parliament.

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