How thousands of people are helping solve the plastic problem

The Big Plastic Count is the UK’s biggest investigation into household plastic waste. Together we can push the government to end the age of plastic once and for all. Are you in?

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Can you imagine what a week’s worth of your household’s plastic waste looks like? If you were one of 250,000 people who completed The Big Plastic Count in 2022, you’ll already have an idea! This year, thousands more schools, community groups, businesses and households of all shapes and sizes will take part to push for bold action from the government. 

It’s a crucial year for plastics. Countries are coming together to agree global rules for reducing plastic production and phasing out single-use plastics through The Global Plastics Treaty, and the UK government is a key player.

Plastics have been choking our oceans, damaging our health and contributing to the climate crisis for decades now. We’ve all been doing our bit to recycle but it’s just not solving the problem. There is simply more plastic than the system can cope with. 

In 2022, The Big Plastic Count showed that a lot of the plastic we put in the recycling doesn’t actually end up getting recycled, and a lot of it gets dumped in other countries or burned in incinerators in the UK. What’s more, incinerators are more likely to be in poorer areas of the country and areas with higher proportions of people of colour. This is our year to change things. 

So for just one week – 11–17 March 2024 – we’ll be counting our plastic waste. And we’ll use the evidence to convince UK ministers, supermarkets and big brands to lead the way at these talks. 

How it works

It’s simple to take part in The Big Plastic Count. 

  1. Sign up at thebigplasticcount.com/sign-up You can take part with your school or household. Just enter a few details and we’ll send you a free counting pack that gives you everything you need to take part, including a tally sheet that you can stick on your fridge or somewhere the whole household can see. 
  2. Get counting. Every day from 11–17 March 2024, count the plastic items you throw away. There are some items you don’t need to count – check our FAQs. How you count is up to you: some people tick items off as they go, and some people put it all to one side to count at the end of the week. Remember, if you miss a day or two, don’t panic! Just keep counting. When you input your results, we can make allowances.  
  3. Submit your results by 31 March. It’s easy to do, just head to thebigplasticcount.com/submit  
  4. Get your footprint. Once you’ve submitted your results, we’ll send you your personalised plastic footprint. If you took part in 2022, you’ll also be able to compare your footprint year on year. Once all the data is in, our whizzy data analysts will use it to calculate the national picture too. 
  5. Help us get the government to take action. We’ll use the evidence to show the government why it’s so important they take strong action to end the plastic problem for good. We’ve got lots of things up our sleeve to bring your hard work to their attention, so stay tuned! 

A woman in light green sits on an light green armchair in the middle of a landfill site surrounded by colourful rubbish
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“The Truth about our Recycling”. Behind the scenes of the Big Plastic Count Results film. The country’s largest ever survey of household plastic waste can reveal that nearly 100 billion pieces of plastic are binned in the UK every year,…

A man in a bright yellow T-Shirt stands in a kitchen with his arms full of plastic contain
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Chris Packham CBE, Wildlife expert, TV Presenter, Author and Conservationist, joins the "Big Plastic Count". Greenpeace UK joins forces with Everyday Plastic and launches the largest investigation into household plastics in the UK. During the investigation plastic waste will be…

6 young children in coats, hats and gloves stand in front of a big white building. One is holding up a card reading The Big Plastic Count with illegible handwriting, smiling widely
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Schoolchildren who took part in the Big Plastic Count hand in a petition at Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) ask politicians to tackle the plastic crisis by reducing single use plastic, ban plastic waste exports and roll…

A woman in light green sits on an light green armchair in the middle of a landfill site surrounded by colourful rubbish
A man in a bright yellow T-Shirt stands in a kitchen with his arms full of plastic contain
6 young children in coats, hats and gloves stand in front of a big white building. One is holding up a card reading The Big Plastic Count with illegible handwriting, smiling widely
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What could we learn?

In 2022, The Big Plastic Count uncovered the shocking truth that only 12% of our plastic waste is likely to be recycled. And almost half (46%) of our plastic waste is incinerated. Burning plastic releases tonnes of climate-wrecking emissions, as well as pollutants and toxins which harm those living nearby. 

This year, we hope to build even more evidence about how much excess plastic the UK uses and what happens to it. The plastics crisis is still with us. But with your help, hopefully not for much longer. 

Let's get counting!

By counting all the plastic you throw away for a week, you can help gather the vital evidence we need to convince UK ministers, supermarkets and big brands to lead the way at global talks that could finally phase out plastic production for good.

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What's next?

Photo montage shows smiling children counting plastic against a colourful background.

Here's what we learned from counting 4 million pieces of plastic

Schools, households, community groups and businesses up and down the country counted their plastic waste for a whole week in March to reveal the state of the UK's plastic waste problem. The Big Plastic Count 2024 is finished, and it's time to see the results.