The Big Plastic Count

The Big Plastic Count is a way of gathering evidence about plastic in our daily lives and what happens to it when we throw it away in the UK.
We are producing and using too much plastic, and very little of it is recycled. The Big Plastic Count will help prove that and push for change.
Can you join in this year?
It will help you:

• understand your personal plastic footprint and how you can change it.
• discover what happens to your plastic after you throw it away.
• push the government to take bold action on plastic.

Here is a video explaining how it works.
There are 4 simple steps to take part:
Step 1: Sign Up (You can sign up as an individual or a household).
You can also sign up for your class or school to take part.

Step 2: Get Ready
Start counting your plastic from Monday 11th March. Do the best you can and don’t worry if you have to skip a day. It is useful to put the chart somewhere near your bin so you and everyone you live with can use it.

Step 3: Count
For one week, you need to count (almost!) every single piece of plastic packaging waste that you throw away (in the bin and in the recycling). If you can, try to count anything you throw away while out and about too.
Please separate and count each piece (for example a pack of raspberries might have a tray that’s hard plastic, a plastic film lid, and a little protective pad inside like bubble wrap). Some people like to tally up each piece of plastic as they go along, others prefer to save up all of their plastic over the day or week (storing it in a bag or box) and then tally it up in one go. It’s totally up to you which way you choose!
There is help on the website including a video showing howto identify different types of plastic buttrust your instinct when counting.

Step 4: Submit your results
At the end of the week submit your results online.
What happens if you need to skip a day? Don’t worry! When you submit your results you can just tell us how many days you counted for. You’ll have up until 31 March to submit your results.

If that is too much hassle please leave your forms in the tray in the Welcome Café and we will submit your data.

Thanks so much for doing this! Without your data, there is no investigation – we need thousands of people to take part to build even more evidence about what really happens to our plastic waste.
You will be helping thepush for change and contribute to our Eco-Congregation work.