1.7 BILLION pieces of plastic thrown away by UK households every week
A shocking report has laid bare Britain's plastic crisis, with households throwing away a whopping 1.7 billion pieces of rubbish every week. The Big Plastic Count, a study organised by Greenpeace, asked 225,000 participants to count how much rubbish they threw out in seven days. The study found that UK households throw out 60 pieces of plastic packaging every week, which equates to 90 billion pieces of waste thrown out each year across the country. ![]()
1/1 Skip Ad Continue watchingafter the adVisit Advertiser websiteGO TO PAGE Sadly, only 17 per cent of that rubbish ends up being recycled domestically, with 58 per cent of the UK's waste being incinerated. Laura Burley, project lead for the Big Plastic Count at Greenpeace, said: 'If I started counting every bit of plastic packaging the UK throws away in a week, it would take me until 2077 to count every piece.' +5 View gallery - Copy link to paste in your message
A shocking report has found that UK households throw out 1.7 billion pieces of plastic waste each year, much of which is burned or exported abroad (pictured) Advertisement Since 2022, when Greenpeace conducted the first plastic count, there has been a growing public push to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated. A recent Greenpeace study found that 74 per cent of Britons polled supported reducing the UK's plastic use. However, the amount of plastic generated this year is almost the same as in 2022 - suggesting that very little real progress has been made. Ms Burnley said: 'Our national survey shows tidal waves of plastic packaging leaving homes every week. 'The problem is huge, and the challenge of fixing it can feel overwhelming.' Snack packaging was the most commonly thrown-out piece of rubbish, with the participants counting 699,932 pieces in just seven days. This was closely followed by plastic fruit and veg packaging with 697,085 pieces being counted. In total, 81 per cent of all the rubbish thrown out by UK households was packaging for food and drink. The study also found that only a very small part of the UK's plastic waste is recycled in the UK. +5 View gallery - Copy link to paste in your message
Households counted the waste they used each week and found that they threw out 60 pieces on average (pictured) The majority of UK waste is now incinerated, with rates of incineration up 12 percentage points from only 46 per cent in 2022. However, this is not a clean solution to the issue, as burning plastic produces more carbon dioxide per tonne than coal. Dr Cressida Bowyer, a plastics expert from the University of Portsmouth, says: 'It's clear from these results that the plastic waste problem is not getting any better, and that recycling is not going to solve it. 'New thinking around packaging choices, backed up by legislation, is urgently needed.' Of the remaining waste, 11 per cent ends up in UK landfills while 14 per cent is exported to other countries where it ends up in vast dumps. +5 View gallery - Copy link to paste in your message
Rubbish from UK supermarkets has been found in landfills as far as Indonesia (pictured) as only 17 per cent is recycled domestically +5 View gallery - Copy link to paste in your message
Out of all the UK's rubbish 58 per cent is now incinerated. Burning rubbish produces more CO2 per tonne than burning coal Advertisement Greenpeace's investigations have found plastic waste from UK supermarkets being burned in Turkey and in dumps in Indonesia. Rudy Schulkind, Political Campaigner at Greenpeace UK, says: 'The worst affected are the marginalised communities and People of Colour who are more likely to live near incineration sites or to be harmed by the waste we dump in countries in the Global South.' This study comes ahead of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee Meeting for a Global Plastics Treaty later this month. In 2022, 175 countries agreed to produce legally binding plastic legislation by the end of 2024. Under this UN initiative, countries will have a legal obligation to place limits on the production and usage of plastic. Greenpeace is calling on the UK government to support the introduction of legally binding targets and call for a reduction in plastic production of 75 per cent by 2024. Mr Schulkind says: 'This year, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to finally secure a global, legally binding target to radically reduce plastic production'. Scientists study the extent of microplastics plaguing British seas Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00PreviousPlaySkipLIVEMute00:00Current Time 0:00/Duration Time 2:40FullscreenNeed TextVideo Quality576p540p360p270pForeground---WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan---OpaqueSemi-OpaqueBackground---WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan---OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindow---WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan---OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyDefaultMonospace SerifProportional SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional Sans-SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsDefaultsDonehttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13310397/Alien-mummies-press-conference-descends-chaos-Peruvian-officials-try-seize-new-pregnant-specimen-three-fingers-toes.html?email_share_article-image-share_most-read-articlesWhatsApp has made a subtle change that has left users FURIOUS - as one vents 'it's hurting my soul'https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13313891/WhatsApp-change-users-furious.html?email_share_article-image-share_most-read-articles'>https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13310397/Alien-mummies-press-conference-descends-chaos-Peruvian-officials-try-seize-new-pregnant-specimen-three-fingers-toes.html?email_share_article-image-share_most-read-articlesWhatsApp has made a subtle change that has left users FURIOUS - as one vents 'it's hurting my soul'https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13313891/WhatsApp-change-users-furious.html?email_share_article-image-share_most-read-articles'>https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13310397/Alien-mummies-press-conference-descends-chaos-Peruvian-officials-try-seize-new-pregnant-specimen-three-fingers-toes.html?email_share_article-image-share_most-read-articlesWhatsApp has made a subtle change that has left users FURIOUS - as one vents 'it's hurting my soul'https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13313891/WhatsApp-change-users-furious.html?email_share_article-image-share_most-read-articles'>https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13313413/Britains-plastic-crisis-rubbish-study.html?ito=email_share_article-image-shareMost Read ArticlesWith Voyager 1 losing contact after floating billions of miles and sending back stunning images, PAUL BRACCHI on the tin can that smashed through the final frontier (and will sail on for eternity)https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13311779/Voyager-1-losing-contact-stunning-images-eternity.html?email_share_article-image-share_most-read-articles'Alien mummies' press conference descends into chaos as Peruvian officials try to seize new 'pregnant specimen' with three fingers and toeshttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13310397/Alien-mummies-press-conference-descends-chaos-Peruvian-officials-try-seize-new-pregnant-specimen-three-fingers-toes.html?email_share_article-image-share_most-read-articlesWhatsApp has made a subtle change that has left users FURIOUS - as one vents 'it's hurting my soul'https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13313891/WhatsApp-change-users-furious.html?email_share_article-image-share_most-read-articles'>
1/1 Skip Ad Continue watchingafter the adVisit Advertiser websiteGO TO PAGE Sadly, only 17 per cent of that rubbish ends up being recycled domestically, with 58 per cent of the UK's waste being incinerated. Laura Burley, project lead for the Big Plastic Count at Greenpeace, said: 'If I started counting every bit of plastic packaging the UK throws away in a week, it would take me until 2077 to count every piece.' +5 View gallery 
