In 2022, nearly 250,000 people from schools, households and communities across the country made The Big Plastic Count the biggest ever investigation into UK household plastic waste. It showed that nearly 100 billion pieces of plastic are thrown away in the UK each year, with hardly any of it recycled. The rest is burned, sent abroad or ends up in landfill.

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

HOW TO TAKE PART
It’s easy! From Monday 11th March morning until Sunday evening, count as you throw!
Simply mark every piece of plastic package as you throw it away on the Let’s Count Tally Sheet 

TOP TIPS
1. Put the Let’s Count Tally Sheet up on your fridge, or near your bin or recycling.
2. Tell everyone you live with that you’re going to be taking part and ask them to include their plastic waste in the count too.
3. Using the Let’s Count Tally Sheet, record the different types of household plastic packaging waste you use for one week. This includes plastic going in your bin and plastic you put out for recycling.
4. Use the Plastic ID Tool to look up plastic items if you need to.
5. Remember to write down any piece of plastic packaging you use while out and about, then mark it on your tally sheet when you get back home.

WHAT NOT TO COUNT
Don’t include: plasters, medication packaging, non-dairy milk/juice cartons, nappies, dog poo bags, plastic cutlery or period products.
We don't want to include plastic items that are used for medical or sanitary reasons, or by people with disabilities who rely on plastic items for independence.
Also, we are not counting coffee cups or Tetra Pak, the plasticised cardboard material that many juice/milk cartons are made of.
Check out the Plastic ID Tool online to familiarise yourself with the kinds of plastics we’re counting up for this survey.
Once your household has completed the survey, your child will:
Bring the Let’s Count Tally Sheet in on Monday 20th March so they can record their results and submit them in class.

Find out more about The Big Plastic Count here: thebigplasticcount.com

We’d like to say a huge thank you for taking part in this important investigation!

Together, we can build even more evidence about what really happens to our plastic.