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It all started when the Queen agreed to work alongside fellow 91-year-old Sir David Attenborough on a conservation documentary dealing with wildlife in the Commonwealth.

She became personally interested in the damage to oceans caused by dumped plastic.

One thing led to another, and the Queen has now declared war on plastic, banning straws and bottles from the Royal estates.

Buckingham Palace has outlined new waste plans, which will include gradually phasing out plastic straws and bottles in public cafes and banning them altogether in staff dining rooms.

Internal caterers at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh will now only be allowed to use china plates and glasses, or recyclable paper cups.

Takeaway food items in the Royal Collection cafes must also now be made of compostable or biodegradable packaging.

As well as the Queen’s interest, The Prince of Wales also regularly speaks about the damage to the oceans caused by dumped plastic and recently warned that the world was facing an "escalating ecological and human disaster" from refuse in the seas.

Buckingham Palace is currently undergoing a 10-year refurbishment program which will make the royal residence far more green, The Telegraph reported.

Food & Drink Business

When Carly Coggan launched Sandboy Beverages less than a year ago, she did not expect the pace of growth to be quite so rapid. Kim Berry finds out how it happened and the brand’s road ahead.

Box Divvy, a community-based food network operating across New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory, has built a soft plastics collection and recycling system across its neighbourhood hubs, diverting about 2.5 tonnes from landfill each month.

The New South Wales government has invested $7.4 million into South Coast aquaculture projects, in the first round of funding from its new $20 million Aquaculture Industry Development Program.