Plastic pollution: UK homes bin 1.7 billion pieces every week, says survey

The results are in from a big UK survey on plastic waste

New findings from The Big Plastic Count estimate that the UK throws away 1.7 billion pieces of plastic each week - around 90 billion items every year.

The results were collected by Greenpeace and Everyday Plastic, with one in every 300 people across the UK taking part.

A total of over 28,000 school pupils logged how much plastic was thrown away in their home for a minimum of one week.

It's part of a wider campaign looking at how governments around the world can commit to reducing plastic waste as part of the upcoming Global Plastics Treaty Negotiations.

How much do you know about recycling plastics? Find out with our true or false quiz below.

Using the data collected by households, the Big Plastic Count says that the UK bins more plastic per person than every other country in the world, except the US.

According to Greenpeace and Everyday Plastic, the number of pieces of plastic burnt has also gone up 25% from last time the count ran in 2022.

The UK government has set a target set to eliminate any avoidable plastic waste by end of 2042.

From 23 April to 1 May this year, they'll meet with other members of the United Nations in Canada to negotiate the Global Plastics Treaty.

This aims to make countries around the world sign up to a law to end plastic pollution.

How much plastic do you use every week? Let us know in the comments below.