UK households throw away 1.7bn pieces of plastic packaging every week

An estimated 1.7 billion pieces of plastic packaging are being thrown away each week in the UK, according to a study.

Around 225,000 people from households, including 28,000 schoolchildren and community groups and businesses nationwide, counted their plastic waste.

The Big Plastic Count found UK households throw away an estimated 90 billion plastic pieces every year.

Greenpeace says recycling will never be able to catch up with the amount of waste being produced.

Environmental campaigners at the University of Portsmouth warn plastic pollution continues to be a 'critical issue'.

There are calls for the government to do more to make sure supermarkets and big brands do more to reduce their packaging.

Dr Cressida Bowyer, deputy director of the Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth, said: "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.

"The negotiations for the Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution in Canada next week present a critical opportunity to galvanise change.

"The Revolution Plastics Institute will be attending negotiations, and will be sharing these important results with policy and decision makers."

Experts warn the UK throws away more plastic per person than every other country in the world, except the US.

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