Merton Council was unable to commit to banning single use plastics at its offices this week.

Deputy leader of the council, Mark Allison, said at a meeting on Wednesday (November 21)  that due to existing contracts a ban could not be put in place.

A member of the public asked: “Given that other councils such as Brighton and Exeter have passed motions banning the use of single use plastics on their premises what if anything is stopping Merton Council from doing the same?”

Cllr Allison said although it is an important issue there is nothing the council can do ban single use plastics.

He said: “This is an issue I know is close to many people’s hearts, the amount of waste that is generated by ourselves as consumers is unacceptable.

“We do need to reduce the amount of waste we create and part of the reason for introducing the wheeled bins is to tackle that to make people more aware of how much they use and to encourage people to reuse their cups and plates.

“We are in a contract with a contractor and therefore at this present time the best way of having results form the businesses end is having discussions with them and we have.

“When the contract is up for renegotiation we can take further action but at this stage we have taken the best action we can.”