Cambs Times: You can join the plastic count which takes place in March.You can join the plastic count which takes place in March. (Image: MARTIN COOPER)Do you know how much plastic comes into your house on a weekly or monthly basis, asks Martin Cooper.

And then there is the issue of whether virgin or recycled plastic, recyclable or not?

The fact is, it’s really hard not to have any plastic in our homes, especially when we go shopping, as so many items come in plastic, but we have no choice if we want it, and very often we are a hostage to what the mass producers and the supermarkets give us.

In 2022, almost 250,000 people from schools, households and communities across the country made The Big Plastic Count - the biggest ever investigation into UK household plastic waste – where people counted every piece of plastic that they brought into their house that week.

And this March the count is back.

Organised by Greenpeace and Every Day Plastic, the count aims to gather information from even more houses this year and hopes to use the results to put pressure on the Government to push for a strong and ambitious Global Plastics Treaty, that will protect people and our planet from plastic production and pollution through a commitment to cut global plastic production by at least 75 per cent by 2040.

Plastic is a huge part of the climate change problem, especially single use plastic, emitting greenhouse gases at every single stage of its lifecycle. By producing less plastic, emissions will reduce, as will the waste we produce that often ends up in our rivers and oceans.

I try and be as plastic free as possible, but in the last count we had 71 items of plastic waste in just that one week. Making a note of what I bought that came in single use plastic and how many were being thrown away – either into the recycling or into the bin if it can’t be recycled – just showed the extent of the plastic problem we face.

 

The reduce, reuse, refill and recycle economy we are trying to support is an essential step towards tackling climate change and with almost 100 billion pieces of plastic packaging thrown away by UK households every year, and just 12 per cent of it being recycled in the UK, we all have a part to play.

The count isn’t about feeling guilty about what we use – it’s about understanding the problem and, by putting pressure on our Government, making our choices easier in the future – so will you sign up today?

The Big Plastic Count is at: www.thebigplasticcount.com.