University of Leeds plans to stop using plastics by 2023

A university has pledged to stop using single-use plastics by 2023.

The University of Leeds said it would "phase out the amount of plastic products and packaging" entering its whole site including its student union within five years.

It has vowed to use biodegradable and reusable alternatives to plastic cups, equipment and apparatus.

Friends of the Earth welcomed the move and congratulated the university for its campaign.

The university said it had already reduced the use of disposable cups by more than 100,000.

Instead its food and catering outlets were selling reusable cups, while its student union bar had replaced single-use plastic cups and glasses "with vegware or paper, all recyclable and compostable".

Launching its Single Out: 2023PlasticFree campaign, the university said it was also researching methods to "produce the next generation of biodegradable bioplastics - plastics derived from renewable biomass that will break down quickly and safely once disposed".

What do you think? Is this enough? What are other Universities doing?