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.”
Read the entire article here: https://www.circularonline.co.uk/news/uk-households-discard-90-billion-pieces-of-plastic-annually-survey-shows/
