The Big Plastic Count found that UK households discard an estimated 90 billion plastic pieces annually, with 17% being recycled domestically.
The survey found that UK households throw away an estimated 1.7 billion pieces of plastic weekly, 60 pieces per household. Snack packaging (699,932 pieces) and fruit and veg packaging (697,085 pieces) were the most commonly counted plastic items.
58% of the pieces of plastic packaging thrown away are being incinerated – up 12% from 2022. 17% was recycled in the UK, 14% was exported and 11% was sent to landfill.
Commenting on the findings, Laura Burley, Project Lead for The Big Plastic Count at Greenpeace UK, said: “If I started counting every bit of plastic packaging the UK throws away in a year, it would take me until 2077 to count every piece. 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. There are solutions out there though. We just need our politicians and big businesses to grasp them – whether that’s moving to refill and reuse products that are accessible to all or introducing targets to cut plastic production.”
If I started counting every bit of plastic packaging the UK throws away in a year, it would take me until 2077 to count every piece.
The Big Plastic Count is conducted by Greenpeace UK and Everyday Plastic with academic support from the Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth. The count ran between 11 and 17 March 2024.
225,000 individuals from over 77,000 households, and members from community groups and businesses across the UK participated. This figure included 28,000 pupils from over 5,000 school classes.
The Big Plastic Count said counts were submitted across all 650 parliamentary constituencies, and 50 MPs across all parties, including ministers and shadow ministers, also took part.
Dr Cressida Bowyer, Deputy Director of the Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth, commented: “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. Implementation of reuse and refill systems for instance could transform the plastics economy from a linear to a more circular model and significantly reduce plastic production and plastic pollution.”
