The Queen is cracking down on plastic, with palace staff told to ditch straws, eat from china plates, and drink from glass bottles. Environmentally friendly strategies have been put in place as a spokesman told of a "strong desire" to tackle the issue of plastic in royal residences. Plastic bottles will no longer be seen in staff canteens or meeting rooms and plastic straws will be phased out at public cafes. Packaging for takeaway food must now be compostable or biodegradable, and cardboard boxes used to shift materials between sites will be re-used many times to avoid waste. As part of the pledge, solar panels will be installed on the roof of Buckingham Palace within the next 10-15 years. The new measures also mean that companies applying for royal warrants will need to comply with environmental criteria.
