Britons urged to count all plastic waste for a week as part of new Greenpeace campaign

UK households are being encouraged to keep count of all the plastic packaging they throw away in a week as part of a new campaign.

The Big Plastic Count is being launched by Greenpeace and non-profit organisation Everyday Plastic in a bid to draw attention to the volume of plastic waste produced by UK homes and to lobby the government and retailers to address the problem.

Individuals, families, schools, businesses and community groups are all being encouraged to count their plastic packaging waste between 16-22 May and record the different types they dispose of into the campaign website.

Data gathered will help build a national picture of the scale of plastic packaging being binned, how much is being recycled, and will give participants an opportunity to find out what is happening to their rubbish.

The survey comes as a YouGov poll of nearly 2,000 people for Greenpeace reveals that 81 per cent of respondents want the government to introduce targets to reduce plastic waste.

The poll also shows that more than three-quarters of respondents recycle plastic products, but 75 per cent do not know what happens to it.

Everyday Plastic founder and director Daniel Webb collected every piece of his plastic waste for a year and, with the help of a scientific researcher, developed a methodology to calculate his personal plastic footprint.

Participating in the survey will provide people with a personal plastic footprint of what they throw away, plus a breakdown of how much of their plastic waste ends up recycled, landfilled, exported or incinerated.

Mr Webb said: “Having counted my plastic waste for an entire year, I know exactly how powerful this investigation can be in helping to understand the true extent of the plastic problem.

“The Big Plastic Count is a simple yet impactful way to discover your household plastic footprint, whilst contributing vital evidence to push the Government for long overdue change.”

According to Greenpeace, the UK generated 5.2m tonnes of plastic waste in 2018, enough to fill Wembley Stadium six times over.

The campaign aims to use the results of the Big Plastic Count to push the government to bring in stricter policies to reduce plastic waste, including setting a target to reduce the UK's single-use plastic by 50 per cent by 2025.

They also want to see a ban on all plastic waste exports and the implementation of a deposit return scheme (DRS) for recycling and reuse of all drinks containers.

Greenpeace UK plastics campaigner Maja Darlington said: “The vast majority of us try to play our part in tackling the plague of plastic waste but without government policies that actually reduce packaging and improve recycling - rather than burning, burying or bundling it off to pollute other countries - we'll continue to fight a losing battle.”

The Big Plastic Count is backed by environmentalist and TV presenter Chris Packham, who said: “It's ridiculous that we're still swamped with plastic waste when it makes so many of us furious. The natural world can't cope.

“We need to find out what's really happening to plastic that's supposedly recycled. I'll be joining the Big Plastic Count and I'd urge you to do it too.”

Registration has now opened for the survey, and people can sign up for it here.