How much plastic do you think your household generates in one week? A handful of items? A small recycling bag? Or more than you’d care to admit?
From 9–15 March, households, schools and community groups across the UK will come together to find out. By counting every piece of plastic packaging thrown away in one week, this nationwide campaign aims to reveals the true scale of our plastic footprint and turns that evidence into stronger government action.
The Effects of the Plastic Plague
We are all too aware that plastic is everywhere in our daily lives.
Food packaging. Toiletry bottles. Delivery wrapping. Snack packets. It adds up faster than most of us realise. But this constant flow of single-use plastics carries with-it long-lasting consequences.
Plastic production has more than doubled in the last two decades alone with the UK contributing to 3.8 million tonnes of plastic production annually.
Yet recycling alone cannot keep pace with the volume being created. Thus, a significant portion of plastic waste is burned in incinerators contributing to air pollution, fuelling the climate crisis and disproportionately affects communities already facing inequality.
This makes this more than a waste issue but rather a climate and social justice issue.
So, what is The Big Plastic Count?
For one week, participants track every piece of plastic packaging they throw away. Bottles, trays, wrappers and film are recorded using a simple tally system.
At the end of the week, totals are submitted and added to national data, helping to build a clearer national picture.
Founder Daniel Webb calls it a “simple yet impactful way to discover your household plastic footprint whilst contributing vital evidence to push the government’s long overdue change.”
How can YOU get Involved?
Getting involved is simple.
- Sign up on the website – https://thebigplasticcount.com/
- Check your email for instructions and your counting pack.
- Count your plastic from 9–15 March.
- Submit your results to receive your plastic profile, showing what happens to your waste after it’s binned and how your results compare nationally.
You can take part as a household, school, workplace or community group. Share your results, spark conversations about the plastic crisis and encourage others to participate. The more people involved, the stronger the message becomes.
The Bigger Picture
As the climate crisis accelerates, national and international action is becoming more urgent.
In 2024, The Big Plastic Count pushed for UK support of the ambitious Global Plastics Treaty. Negotiations stalled in 2025 amid pressure from powerful fossil fuel interests, delaying progress.
Collective evidence from households helps show that not just individual effort alone can help curb this crisis but rather systemic solutions through strong national policies.
The Big Plastic Count implores for the UK government to be equally ambitious in their domestic policy to drive the reduction in plastic production we so critically need.
More specifically for the UK government to remove plastic packaging from uncut fruit and vegetables by 2030. This small change would create serious positive knock-on effect for the futures of people and the earth they inhabit.
Count now. Change what’s next.
Yes, this is just counting plastic. But this small form of collective action provides the evidence needed to demand long-overdue government change.
So…
From 9–15 March, count your plastic.
Submit your results. Share what you discover. Start conversations – through social media, through writing to your MP or simply by telling your friends.
Together, we can expose the scale of the UK’s plastic problem and help create a fairer future, free from the impacts of the plastics crisis.
Written by volunteer Katie Flynn
