Almost 100bn pieces of UK plastic packaging binned every day

A pioneering new study has revealed just how much plastic the average person in the nation really consumes.

The Big Plastic Count, spearheaded by Greenpeace in collaboration with charity Everyday Plastic, discovered that the nation gets rid of 96.6bn pieces of plastic packaging a year.

Of that “jaw-dropping” amount, a mere 12% of single-use packaging is sent for recycling.

Chris Thorne, plastics campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said the study should be a wakeup call for politicians to prioritise the nation’s plastic problem.

He said, “Pretending we can sort this with recycling is just industry greenwash. We’re creating a hundred billion bits of waste plastic a year, and recycling is hardly making a dent. What else do the government need to know before they act?”

OPINION: Boris Johnson says plastic recycling ‘doesn’t work’ (and he’s not entirely wrong)

The study – which involved 100,000 residents, businesses, schools, community groups, politicians, and even celebrities like Joanna Lumley – revealed that each home in the UK throws away 66 pieces of plastic packaging a week; that’s 3,432 pieces a year.

It was the largest ever volunteer study into plastic packaging use and saw participants separating their waste into 19 categories.

I just took part in the #BigPlasticCount, UK’s biggest investigation into household plastic waste. Here’s what I found really happens to my plastic waste:

♻️19% recycled
🌍27% sent abroad
🔥35% burnt
⛰️19% sent to landfill

This is shocking, right?!

— Thangam Debbonaire 💙 (@ThangamMP) May 23, 2022

Most of the plastic was food and drink packaging at 83%, and most of that was fruit and veg packaging, which many would argue is unnecessary a lot of the time (France banned plastic packaging for most produce earlier this year, while Spain plans to phase it out from 2023).

“This is a jaw-dropping amount of plastic waste and should give ministers pause for thought,” continued Chris.

“Just 12% of all this plastic is likely to end up being recycled in the UK, despite the public’s alarm about the issue and efforts to recycle.”

MORE: Why you should care about SunSkips’ commitment to sustainable waste management

The only country in the world that uses more plastic per person is the United States, according to research.

A previous report from Recoup found just under 50% of plastic waste is recycled across the nation, which this new study contradicts.

Plastic packaging clogs up landfill sites, seas, streets and countryside. It’s very hard to recycle because it can only go through the current mechanical process a few times before the polymers break down too much.

MORE: Plastics that can be recycled: a guide to sorting plastics in the UK

Everyday Plastic founder Daniel Webb decided to research his own plastic waste habits in 2017, after which he ended up with 40 bags full of the stuff.

He told BBC News, “This experience changed my life and changed how I understood the problem. Then I thought, `What if other people did the same experiment as I did?’”

Daniel added, “It has allowed us to build a unique picture of the plastic problem and gather never-before-seen data. These new figures lay bare the responsibility of the government, big brands and supermarkets to tackle this crisis, and they must rise to the challenge right now – there is no time to waste.”

SunSkips recycles plastics that come through our skip hire sites in Cambridge, Stowmarket and Haverhill. A lot of what can’t be recycled is sent to be used as fuel for industrial kilns.