throw away

and where
What we

it goes
SUPPORTED BY:
Ever wondered how much plastic we use in a year and where it goes?
About us
Everyday Daniel Webb
Plastic Daniel has worked in
marketing for 10 years Everyday
Plastic:
Everyday Plastic is an art across a range of sectors
and educational project including art, music, food
that aims to communicate
what we
and drink and sport.
the realities of our plastic
consumption in a personal
throw away
He has had a more active interest in
and relatable way. conservationism since 2015 which led
him to launch Everyday Plastic in 2017.

and where
Daniel Webb collected every piece Daniel delivers talks on the project
of plastic he used in 2017. Having at schools, businesses and events

it goes
counted, categorised, weighed and and works with major environmental
photographed the whole collection of charities such as Greenpeace,
plastic waste, he turned it into a large- Friends of the Earth and Surfers
scale billboard. The giant mural was on Against Sewage.
show at Dreamland in Margate earlier
this year and officially launched the
Everyday Plastic project. Dr Julie By Daniel Webb
The project received worldwide media Schneider and Dr. Julie Schneider
coverage and has had features in The
Guardian, National Geographic, Metro, Julie is an expert in Earth
Sky News, BBC and more. One of the Sciences. Having started Disclaimer: The arguments expressed
key aims of the project is to improve her studies in Paris in 1995, in this report are solely those of the
communication of plastic pollution she went on to complete authors, and do not reflect the opinion
and raise awareness within the wider her Masters and PhD at of any other party.
public sphere.
one of France’s dedicated
scientific research The report should be cited as follows:
Webb, D. and Schneider, J., 2018.
institutions - Université Everyday Plastic: what we throw away
Montpellier II - in 2004. and where it goes.
Her post-study roles include a
geochemistry research fellowship
in Taiwan before spending 8 years
lecturing and researching in Earth
Sciences at the Université Nice Sophia
Antipolis. Since moving to the UK, she
volunteered to research with Friends
of the Earth before moving to CHEM
Trust - a charity that works
to prevent man-made chemicals
from causing long term damage to
wildlife or humans.
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

Funding Contents
Rachel Ward, Kashmir Flint, Kezia Foreword 4
This report is 100% independent and Hanson, Julie Bloomfield, Emma
the data collection, research, analysis McArthur, Julia and Barenda In a nutshell 6
and writing has been completed in our Pretorius, Will Hebditch, Andy Aitken,
free time without external interests Jon Morales, Sanjay Mitra, Laura Tait, Background 10
or funding. Nick Berry, Jamie Berry, Jo Usmar and
to my enthusiastic and encouraging About me 12
Surfers Against Sewage is supporting friends and family.
the release and promotion of the report Methodology 14
and have contributed funding to the
design. The report has been designed How is this study representative of an
by Leap as part of their people and average UK citizen? 16
planet ‘design for change’ initiative.
Ever wondered how much plastic we
use in a year? 18
Acknowledgements everydayplastic.org
What is throwaway plastic? 20
[email protected]
The first and biggest thank you goes
to Julie Schneider, without whom everydayplastic What use were the throwaway
this report would not exist. She has plasticeveryday plastic pieces designed for? 22
dedicated a lot of hard work, free time
and energy to this project and fighting But what does the packaging look like? 24
plastic pollution.
What type of plastic is the throwaway plastic
Thank you to Hugo Tagholm and the
made from? 26
team at Surfers Against Sewage for Of the throwaway plastic, how much is
supporting the release of this report, recyclable in the UK? 28
as well as their continued and tireless
work against plastic pollution. sas.org.uk
If 30% is recyclable, how much is actually
[email protected] collected for recycling? 32
Thank you to Matt Hocking and the surfersagainstsewage
team at Leap for this document’s sascampaigns Of the throwaway plastic, how much is
incredible creative and design. recycled in the UK? 33

Everyday Plastic has relied heavily So what about the remaining 96%? 36
on the generosity of a number of
volunteers and supporters. In no How much of the recycled plastic is used to
particular order, thank you to Libby produce new plastic? 38
Northedge, Jez Leather, Lucy Siegle,
Ollie Harrop, Ross Walker and Rachel leap.eco How much energy, natural resource and raw
material was used to produce my throwaway
Boot, Tess Acheson and Andrew [email protected] plastic waste? 40
Cross, Ian Hall, Meg and Rebecca at leapness
Dreamland, Richard Heneghan, Jim The verdict: We’re not being told the truth
Biddulph, Matt Verity, Luke Eastop, leapness
about recycling 42
Vanessa Brier, Orla Dollman,
Jo Bridges, Annie Nichols, Footnotes 48
Helen Pitman, Lisa Goldsworthy,
References 49

About our supporters 50

Appendix 52
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

Foreword Plastic
transactions
However, we the public is making a
stand against this threat. Polluted
beaches looking like supermarket
dominate our lives shelves and supermarket shelves
and are virtually looking like polluted beaches have

inescapable.
driven an almost unprecedented
environmental movement. We started
with the end of pipe solutions – beach
The numbers are startling, even for and countryside cleans where the
the most avid fans of the plastic free problem is acutely visible. Then the
movement. A massive 4,490 pieces personal choices to refuse plastics
of plastic over the course of a year. – Plastic Free Communities, refill
On this basis, the UK throws away schemes, refusing straws and carrying
295 billion pieces of plastic annually. a cotton tote bags to name but a few.
Throws away! Not reuses, not refills, not Government policy and legislation
recycles – throws away! Most of this broadly followed this growing public
packaging comes from the food we discontent about plastic pollution.
consume and much of it is unrecyclable
anyway, irrespective of the complicated However, with almost 1 in 10 barrels of oil
and stalling recycling systems the being designated to plastic production,
public currently has at its disposal. the oil industry will unquestionably be
Only a miniscule amount of the plastic the final target. There lies the epicentre
collected for recycling in the UK is of the plastic tsunami.
reprocessed domestically – a tiny 4%.
Don’t be fooled, the containers in your Make your voice count and let’s keep
kerbside recycling aren’t currently fast- up the pressure together, which is a
tracked back into new containers on critical component of driving reforms
our supermarket shelves. Not that we in government policy, legislation and
shouldn’t continue every effort to use business practices. Your everyday
current recycling systems. choices and actions make a bigger
difference than you think when it comes
The public is caught between a rock to plastic pollution.
and a hard place, all too often becoming
the plastic pollution scapegoats. We’re
provided with inadequate recycling
systems but have increasing amounts Together,
of pointless plastics foisted upon us.
This ominous combination virtually we can call for
‘weaponises’ single-use plastics,
creating plastic munitions that rain government
and business to
Everyday Plastic is an incredibly seminal book Silent Spring.
down on our streets, fields, forests,
powerful representation of a seemingly
beaches and oceans. The systems the
mundane, easy-to-fix, problem that
envelopes all our lives, not just every
Plastic transactions dominate our lives
and are virtually inescapable. Daniel’s
public are provided, which incidentally
we pay for through our taxes, haven’t
change too.
day but almost every hour, every minute project demonstrates the cumulative
kept pace with the plastic armada Hugo Tagholm CEO,
and every second of our existence. A scale and impact of those seemingly
industry controls and profits from. Surfers Against Sewage
problem that passes through all of our innocuous transactions with single-
hands daily, which has now become one use plastics. How the small choices we
of the world’s biggest environmental make can unwittingly build our own
Polluted To start or join
emergencies, the bed fellow of
climate change and one that evokes
personal plastic monster that shadows
us at every corner shop, supermarket, beaches looking a Plastic Free
the pesticides and toxic chemicals café, restaurant and workplace. A like supermarket Community, please
catastrophes of the ‘50s and ‘60s
which Rachel Carson highlighted in her
plastic shadow that is consuming the
very ground that we all walk on. shelves. visit sas.org.uk
4 5
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

In a nutshell
In 2017, I collected every piece of plastic that I threw away. I
wanted to analyse the results of this year-long experiment
to help the impact of our plastic consumption resonate on
an individual level and with everyday people. This process has
67% of my
been integral in shifting my position from being oblivious of throwaway plastic
my consumption to being able to quantify it piece by piece. was used to
package, wrap and
consume food
93% of my No surprises here. We can buy food
anytime, anywhere and in abundance,
collected plastic especially from supermarkets. And
most of it comes wrapped in plastic.
waste was single-
use packaging
Shockingly, 4,177 pieces of plastic were
single-use packaging, specifically
designed to be thrown away. By
The UK throws simply combining the Oxford English
Dictionary definitions for single-use
away over and packaging, we can offer a fresh
take on the definition of single-use
295 billion packaging as ‘a material used to wrap
pieces of plastic or protect goods that is designed to
be used once and then disposed of
47% of the
every year or destroyed’. throwaway plastic
is made of low
Over the course of If we applied the amount of plastic
waste I collected to every individual grade, low value
one year, I threw in the country, it would mean that the
and unrecyclable
away 4,490 pieces population of the UK throws away
295 billion pieces of plastic every year. plastic film
of plastic In volume, this represents a pile of
plastic rubbish big enough to cover Almost no piece of packaging made
Based on the weight of this, this is Clapham Common and rise as high of plastic film can be recycled, yet this
just below average compared to as The Shard. makes up the majority of the pieces
what the rest of the UK consumes in my collection of plastic waste. It
and throws away. cannot be made into new plastic nor
can it be made from recycled plastic.

6 7
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

70% of the plastic

Are we being lied to about
that I threw recycling? Because clearly,
away in a year recycling is not enough.
is not currently
recyclable To really make an impact on this urgent situation,
Plastic bottles, trays and pots are
governments, industry and retailers need to act now.
widely collected by local councils in For example, phasing out plastic film if its unrecyclable,
the UK, but under a third (30%) of the
plastic waste I created is currently
Only 4% of my making packaging more reusable and recyclable, and
investing in improving recycling infrastructure will make
recyclable in the UK. collection of plastic huge leaps towards reducing our plastic footprint in the
waste would be UK and overseas.
recycled at UK
recycling facilities As well as raising our voices to put pressure on
policymakers and corporations, each of us needs
Of the 4,490 pieces of plastic that I to acknowledge that we are part of the system, and
saved over the course of a year, only that each of us has a responsibility too. We need to
161 would be recycled. We define
Only 10% of my recycled as ‘plastic waste that has
acknowledge that our throwaway consumer culture has
affected the environment and that our love for cheap and
throwaway plastic been converted into reusable materials
at facilities in the UK’. superfluous convenience will have irreversible damage on
waste would be our future.
collected for
recycling Less plastic needs to be
Given that every local authority has
a different policy and approach to produced, and less plastic
waste management and recycling,
it’s unsurprising that much of the
recyclable plastic is not collected.
needs to be consumed.
The plastic waste ends up in the
wrong bin, escapes or spills, or is not
recyclable under one council, so it
means only about 10% of all the plastic
I threw away is actually collected to be
recycled.

8 9
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

Background Following this head-on confrontation

with marine and coastal litter, I asked
Thanet District Council about what
councils millions to clear its coastline
and streets each year1 and most of
Kent’s waste is in fact incinerated or is
I want to share this report with
you to show what your annual
plastic use looks like so we can
recycling was available to me in my recovered to produce fuel.2 understand our individual
During a plastic-riddled block of flats. The answer? None. contribution to plastic pollution.
run along the Margate
If most of it
Neither at my kerbside nor the local
waste management centre. Given that I am not a journalist, activist,
coast one September
is not being
the products in my local Aldi are nearly environmentalist or scientist, and I have
evening in 2016, I started all packaged in plastic, I found myself written this report in a straightforward

recycled, then
wondering how I could avoid buying and accessible manner. For this
thinking about what my plastic or how I could dispose of reason, the words, opinions, analogies,
own personal impact it responsibly. language and philosophy in this report

was on plastic pollution. I decided that for the next 12 months,

how much come from me and Julie.

How much plastic is in starting 1 January 2017, I would not

throw away any plastic waste I
plastic waste This year-
the sea? Is any of it mine?
How much rubbish could
produced. Not a bottle top, piece of
bubble wrap, straw, toothbrush, salad
is each of us long process
one person living alone
bag, coffee lid or clothing label.
producing of collecting
actually produce...? Margate, like dozens of coastal towns
across the country, is overwhelmed and where is it has given
by plastic pollution in its seas. It costs
ending up? us a hugely
comprehensive
inventory of
plastic waste.
I may be the crazed collector, but
the experiment and its effects can
be applied to every one of us. From
brushing your teeth to making dinner,
the report shows just how much
throwaway plastic is in our
day-to-day lives.

10 11
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

About me Introducing
I’m your average Dr Julie
British bloke.
Dr Julie has a PhD in
I’m 36 and enjoy all the regular things Geosciences.
someone in their mid-30s enjoys.
Having a pint, going out for a meal, She was a lecturer in the field at
cooking at home, riding my bike, Université Nice Sophia Antipolis in
going for a run, going to gigs, France until 2015. After two decades
going to the cinema etc. studying and researching Earth
Sciences, she moved to the UK to lend
I moved to Margate in Summer her skills and knowledge to NGOs and
2016, attracted by the sea, creative charities such as Friends Of The
community, small town feel and the Earth, Break Free From Plastic and
opportunity to continue my freelance CHEM Trust.
marketing work.
It was whilst researching the
I try to eat pretty healthily. I don’t petrochemical industry and the use
buy ready meals or own a microwave. of fossil fuels as a raw material in
That’s not to say that I don’t love a manufacturing that she realised one of
snack - crisps, peanuts, crackers, its main products was plastic. Horrified
chocolate, cake - the lot. My local Aldi, by plastic’s abundance, durability and
which is about 400 metres from my toxicity, she started to dig deeper into
house, is great for picking up cheap the issue. Combining her expertise
and quality ingredients for meals. in geosciences with her passions for
social and environmental change, she
It was around 2015 when I really started is determined to turn the tap off on
to pay attention to environmental plastic production.
problems, notably climate change and
how it was communicated. I became I met Julie on Facebook in the very
really conscious of plastic pollution in early days of Everyday Plastic when I
2016, and stopped using water bottles was looking for a researcher, and thank
around September of that year. I’m not my lucky stars I did. This report would
vegetarian, but I have continued to cut not exist if it wasn’t for her. She has
down on how much meat I consume dedicated hours, days, weeks, months
for the past two years. of her free time to meticulously
analysing and calculating data from
every source imaginable and applying
it to our findings.

12 13
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

As all the pieces were mixed within After we’d completed this process, We have applied publicly available

Methodology 20 different bin bags, we started

by firstly separating pieces by hard
and soft plastics. Amongst the hard
we were then able to identify 114 sub-
categories based on both their plastic
type and purpose e.g. LDPE bread bag
statistics to the data collected in this
experiment. This has given us the
means to make accurate calculations
plastics were milk bottles, tomato or PP bread bag, HDPE shampoo into the fate of my plastic within the
To collect the data trays, yoghurt pots, tablet packs, bottle etc. Finally, we counted, UK waste system as well as energy and
presented in this report, toothpaste tubes etc. The soft measured and weighed each piece resource consumption related to the
the first task was to plastics pile included carrier bags, in the sub-categories. lifecycle of my plastic.
bubble wrap, cling film, salad bags
classify the collection by
We were able
and crisp packets. To see all the data collected and detail
purpose, plastic type and of calculations, see the appendix 2.
To determine the type of plastic
recyclability. To do so,
we needed the help of
that each category was made from,
we had to go through the arduous
to identify 114
20 volunteers. process of checking the packaging
for the plastic code e.g. 1 = PET, 5 = PP,
sub-categories
6 = PS etc3. If the piece didn’t list the
code, we identified the type based on
its texture and appearance.

Dr. Julie!

14 15
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

How is
this study
representative
of an average
Over the
UK citizen? course of
one year,
This year-long experiment Altogether, this explains why my total
gives an authentic picture plastic packaging consumption of
of my plastic consumption. 29kg in 2017 is 15.7% lower than Diane’s
at 34.4kg7. The average European uses

I threw away
To be sure that I was representing other 31kg of plastic packaging per year8.
people in the UK and Europe, we have This is 2kg (6%) higher than mine.
compared my plastic consumption with
This is important to acknowledge as

4,490
publicly available data. Our fictional
character - Diane - represents the throughout this report, we will apply
average UK citizen. my data to the UK population to
understand the scale of the problem
For 2017, I’d decided not to buy or on a national level. As seen above,
drink water out of plastic bottles. it is worth bearing in mind that my
This explains why my plastic bottle consumption of plastic is slightly lower
consumption is lower at 5.7kg than the than average.
average 9kg consumed by Diane.4 Plastic packaging
waste produced
My penchant for yoghurts and
in one year
tomatoes is a bit more than Diane’s.

pieces of
8.9kg of my collection is pots, trays
and lids whereas Diane’s weighs 8kg.5

Many of my friends noticed

how much I love to eat crisps.

plastic
However, Diane eats around
166 packets of crisps and
savoury snacks per year,
whereas I eat 146.6

Me Diane

29kg 34.4kg
Diane is an average UK citizen.
The average EU citizen produces 31kg.

16 17
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

Ever How do
Over the course of one
year, I threw away 4,490 Throwing away 4,490
pieces in a year works out
wondered you throw
pieces of plastic.
at an average of 86 pieces
Since my plastic each week or 12 a day.
how much consumption is pretty close
to the average UK citizen, away 4,490 12 pieces per day could seem like a

plastic we pieces of
lot, but let’s take a milk bottle as an
what if we multiplied the example. It is one product that often
amount of plastic that I comes with five separate plastic pieces:

use in a threw away by the number

of people living in the UK - plastic in the bottle itself, the bottle cap, the
safety seal around the cap, the peelable

year? a year?
seal on top of the bottle, and the plastic
i.e. 65.6 million people?d sleeve around the bottle which features
the brand name, use-by date etc.
It works out that as a country, we
throw away hundreds of billions of
A more accurate breakdown of what

The UK
plastic pieces in just one year.
I used and threw away in a week is
provided in the Appendix 2 - Table 2.
My entire plastic pile weighs 35kg.

throws Applying this to whole country, this

adds up to 2.3 million tonnes - the

away an
equivalent of about half the weight of UK Annual Plastic Waste
306m high
the UK population.9

estimated And in volume, it represents a pile of

plastic rubbish big enough to cover
The Shard
295 billion
one of London’s largest green
spaces - Clapham Common 306m
high
(89 hectares) and rise as

pieces of high as the UK’s tallest

building - The

plastic
Shard (306m).10

every year

UK Annual Plastic Waste The London Eye UK Annual Plastic Waste

1,074m diameter 123m diameter 92.4 million m3
18 19
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

What is B) Single-use non-packaging such as

straws, stirrers, takeaway cutlery, How much of the plastic
throwaway waste was packaging?
wet wipes etc. made up 4% of my pile
of plastic. I tried my best to refuse 1%
these pieces throughout the year Disposable

plastic? but somehow managed to end up

with 171 pieces! 4%
non-packaging
48 pieces

C) Disposable non-packaging pieces

Single-use
non-packaging
This is a collection of my such as a Bic biro is not single-use,
171 pieces
but it is designed to be thrown away
plastic waste i.e the stuff once the ink has run out. Other pieces
I’d thrown away. However, include cleaning sponges, razor blades
I was still shocked that
pretty much every piece
and gift cards, and there were 48 pieces
in total, accounting for just 1%. 93%
was actually designed to Single-use
be thrown away. D) Durable pieces that are designed packaging
to last such as pipes, keyboard, electric 4,177 pieces
Oxford English Dictionary defines toothbrush make up the remaining 94
throwaway as ‘denoting or relating pieces (2%). But they still break, and are
to products that are intended to be then ultimately thrown away.
discarded after being used once or a
few times’. Throwaway encompasses Categories A, B and C are throwaway
several sub-categories, including plastic. In total, this equates to 98%
single-use - defined as ‘designed to of my whole collection of plastic waste
be used once and then disposed of or (4,396 pieces).
destroyed’ - and disposable - defined
as ‘intended to be thrown away after For the rest of the report, the statistics
use’. We feel that it’s important to will be based on the 4,396 pieces of
define packaging too. The OED defines throwaway plastic only. We’ve chosen
packaging as ‘materials used to wrap or to focus on throwaway plastic as we are
protect goods’. most interested in the fate of plastic
that has been specifically designed
Therefore, we can offer a new definition; to be thrown away, highlighting the

98%
consequences of our fast moving
consumer culture.
Single-use packaging /ˈsɪŋɡ(ə)l/ /juːs/
/ˈplastɪk/ a. n. A material used to Throwaway Plastic
wrap or protect goods that is designed In total, 4,396 pieces
to be used once and then disposed of
or destroyed.
throwaway
Based on these definitions, we decided
plastic equates
to break my plastic waste down into
4 categories: to 98% of
A) Single-use packaging such as salad my whole 2%
bags, bread bags, cheese packets,
shower gel bottle etc., is so ubiquitous, collection of Durables
94 pieces
that 93% of my plastic waste is single-
use packaging (4,177 pieces). 11 plastic waste.
20 21
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

What use 2,658 pieces What use were the throwaway

plastic pieces designed for?
were the (67%)10 of the
throwaway throwaway 67%
Food
plastic were
plastic used to
packaging
2,658
pieces
pieces package,
designed wrap and
for? consume food.
This includes crisps and cling film,
We calculated that 98% hummus pots and HP sauce, salad
of my plastic waste is bags and spaghetti packs, and cutlery
and coffee cups.
throwaway plastic.
Having bought new furniture, hardware
But what is the plastic designed to do and electronics for my flat, as well as
before it is thrown away? It didn’t take ordering a whole host of paraphernalia
22%
much to narrow down the collection of from Amazon and clothes from
plastic waste into 4 main categories: ASOS, there was a lot of protective
packaging. 867 pieces (22%) were used Protective
1 Food packaging as protective packaging. These pieces packaging
2 Protective packaging (from
polystyrene chips to parcel bags)
range from polystyrene chips to parcel 867 pieces
bags, bubble wrap to bin bags and
3 Personal hygiene, home birthday card wrappers to carrier bags.
cleaning and medical packaging
4 Miscellaneous (from pens to We analysed which pieces would be
paint pots) used for my daily washing and cleaning
routine. In total, 378 pieces (10%) were
My initial instinct was that a lot of it used to package personal hygiene,
was food packaging. And I was right! home cleaning and medicine products.
These include everything from tablet
packs to toilet paper wrap, bleach
bottles to Brita filters and wet wipes
10%
Hygiene
to washing tablets.
and cleaning
What about the things that aren’t packaging
designed for single-use packaging but 378 pieces
are designed to be thrown away once
we’re done with them? These pieces 1%
include pens, paint pots, plant pots Miscellaneous
and inner soles. There were 54 of these 54 pieces
pieces (1%).

22 23
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

But what Most of the throwaway plastic is the

soft, thin, flimsy stuff. Think of a carrier

does the
bag, or a bag of pasta, spinach, cereal
or crisps, or the wrap around your
chocolate bar, coffee pouch, frozen

packaging
peas or cheese.
and milk bottles, or tubs, You know, that stuff.
pots and trays to package Nearly half of the Nearly half of the throwaway plastic

look like? your meat, soup, ice cream

and vitamins accounted
throwaway plastic
(2,060 pieces -
(2,060 pieces - 47%) is made of
this material, commonly known as
plastic film.
for 1,227 pieces (28% of
The sturdier, less flexible the throwaway plastic)13.
47%) is made of this You’ll notice that this kind of stuff is
plastic that we see used material, commonly not included in your local council’s list
of recyclable pieces.
in ketchup, shower gel, These are the pieces that are most known as plastic film.
widely collected for recycling.

24 25
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

What type There are 6 main types of plastics used

for packaging as well as a multitude What type
of plastic of plastic is
of other types used in various Total
applications such as electronics, number of
cars, planes, construction, clothing,
the throwaway plastic type

is the medicine etc. We sorted my plastic

waste using the Resin Identification
plastic made How much of

throwaway
Coding System, as well as separate each plastic type
categories for multilayered packaging,
plastic fibres (e.g. textile), unidentified
from? is recyclable

plastic and other.

made from?

1,021 (23%)
PP (e.g. pasta bag), LDPE (e.g. bread

4,396
bag) and multilayered (e.g. crisp
packet) plastics make up over half
(53%) of the whole collection. These
This is the science-y bit. plastics are either not or very poorly
How is plastic made? How recycled in the UK. The two plastic
do different processes types that are theoretically the most

807 (18%)
make different types of easily recyclable in the UK, PET (e.g.
water bottles) and HDPE (e.g. milk
plastic? What are those bottles), account for less than a
types used for? quarter (23%). PS (e.g. takeaway boxes),
PVC (e.g. gift cards), other (inc. ABS,
Most of the plastic we see in our day- PLA), polyester, nylon, other fibres,

561 (13%)
to-day lives is made from refined and unidentifiable plastics make up

536 (12%)
oil and/or gas. How it is refined the remainder. None of these are

497 (11%)
determines the type of plastic. recyclable in the UK.

445 (10%)
For example, the gas ethane could be
extracted from shale gas. Ethane is

342 (8%)
then converted to ethylene, a single
molecule, or ‘monomer’. A group of
monomers are then joined together
to form a longer chain of molecules

(30%)
or ‘polymer’. This process creates

1,325
polyethylene (PE), which is the most

133 (3%)
abundant and number one plastic
that is used for packaging (29% of the
throwaway plastic from my plastic

424 (79%)

333 (67%)

33 (1%)

21 (<1%)
waste is made of PE). Depending

410 (51%)
158 (15%)
on the way the ethylene molecules
are joined together during the
polymerisation process, polyethylene
can take on different forms. The
denser, harder and heavier plastic that

al
PP

PE

PS

re

ers

d
PE
LDP

ere

ifie
PV

Tot
we see in milk and shampoo bottles

Fib
HD

#6

Oth
#5

is High-density Polyethylene (HDPE).

#1

ent
ilay

#3
#4

#2
Thin, flexible and lighter plastic such

#7
lt

id
as carrier bags, bread bags or cling film
Mu

Un
is Light-density Polyethylene (LDPE).
26 27
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

Of the
A Widely collected | 90% of
councils will collect for recycling
(e.g. PET and HDPE bottles)
Of the 4,396 pieces of throwaway plastic,
how much is recyclable in the UK?
throwaway B Mostly collected | 70% of

Not Poorly
plastic, how
councils will collect for recycling
(e.g. pots and trays)
Currently Collected for

much is
C Poorly collected | 20% of Recycled: Recycling:
councils will collect for recycling 3,071 pieces 424 pieces
(e.g. LDPE films like bread bags)
70% 9.6%
recyclable D Not currently recycled | 0%

in the UK?
collected for recycling
by councils (e.g. multi-layered
packaging, cling film etc.)

Before calculating how Theoretically, every piece in categories

much of my plastic waste A, B and C is recyclable. After sorting
all the pieces according to these
would be recycled at UK categories, it turns out that less than a
recycling facilities after it third (1,325 pieces - 30%)18 is currently
has been put in the bin, we recyclable in the UK.
wanted to estimate the
amount of plastic that is
theoretically recyclable. This means
Defining ‘recyclable’ however is not
that 3,071
easy. Even Steve Alexander, President
and CEO of The Association of Plastic pieces
Recyclers, has said “recyclability goes
beyond just being technically recyclable (70%) that I
there must be consumer access to a
recycling program, a recycler must be consumed
able to process the material, and there
must be an end market.”g over a year are
For the purpose of this report, we have not currently
recyclable.
defined recyclable as ‘pieces that are
collected for recycling by local councils
in the UK’. To be even more precise, we
developed 4 categories based on the
pieces that are collected by councils
from widely to not at all.17
Mostly Widely
Collected for Collected for
Recycling: Recycling:
523 pieces 378 pieces
12% 8.4%
28 29
70%
EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

of the plastic
I threw away
over a year is
not currently
recyclable
30 31
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

If 30% is Some pieces have collection rates of

Of the By adding together the total number of
recycled pieces in each category,

we have
58% such as PET plastic bottles, while

recyclable, others such as crisp packets have a

throwaway concluded
collection rate of 0%. We applied the

how much same methodology for each category

in my plastic waste, and we worked out
plastic, how that 4% - only
is actually
that​only 10% of my throwaway plastic
(451 pieces) would be collected for
recycling21. much is 161 pieces
collected Only 10% of recycled of my 4,396
for my throwaway in the UK? throwaway
recycling? plastic would plastic pieces
While 1,325 pieces (30%) be collected
We define recycled as
‘plastic waste that has
- would be
of my plastic waste are
for recycling. been converted into recycled in the
recyclable, only 451 pieces
(10%) would be collected for
reusable materials at
facilities in the UK’ UK. Yes, only
recycling. How did we work
that out?
As Dr Karl Williams, Head of the Centre 4%22.
for Waste and Resource Management
at the University of Central Lancashire,
If we take PET plastic trays used for said: “If you collect rubbish and ship it
our tomatoes and strawberries as an to China that’s not recycling, that’s
example: 100% are recyclable in the just collecting”h.
UK, 76% of local councils collect them
but only 32% are actually collected for
recycling20. Therefore, we applied the
It is estimated that on
32% collection rate to the PET plastic average, 63% of the plastic
trays in my collection, working out at packaging collected for
268 pieces. If we estimated how many recycling in the UK is
would be collected? 86 pieces. exported overseasc.

10% Collected
100%

4% Recycled
for recycling
32 33
 4%
EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

Just
of my plastic
waste would be
recycled at UK
recycling facilities
34 35
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

So what From the plastic that is not collected

for recycling or is unrecyclable, 2,627
What actually happens to all the
throwaway plastic?
about the
pieces (60%) would be incinerated.
Extracting energy from burning

remaining
waste is becoming an increasingly
widespread solution to deal with
rubbish, and can power and heat

96%?
our homesk. However, incineration
comes at a heavy environmental
cost. Firstly, it releases carbon dioxide

4,396
and other greenhouse gases into
Just over a third23 of what the atmosphere which contribute to
we diligently put into our climate changek. Secondly, burning
plastic recycling bins is
actually recycled in the UK,
plastics can release toxic chemicalsl.
This potentially puts the health of throwaway
which demonstrates the
immense lack of recycling
those living near an incineration
plant at risk if toxic emissions are not
properly controlled and are released
plastic items
infrastructure. into the atmospherem.

What happens is that most of the plastic 1,247 pieces (28%) would be sent to
waste in our recycling bin is exported landfill. If we think about it, landfill is
to Europe for incineration, or to South just a giant storage unit for future
East Asia for ‘recycling’. Since China generations to unearth and worry
banned any more plastic rubbish from about. Landfilled plastics are exposed
entering the country, Malaysia, Vietnam
and Thailand are the new top three
to a number of external elements
that alter its state such as heat, 90% 10%
451 items
destinations shouldering the UK’s plastic pressure, water, sunlight, gases or 3,945 collected
wastej. In total, 289 pieces (6%) from my acidic leachates released by the waste. items 2% for
plastic waste would be exported. These elements combined cause the
hazardous chemicals that could be
not 71 items recycling
collected recovered

This means that

present in plastic to leak into
the environmentn. for
recycling
tens of billions Finally, from the 3,945 plastic pieces

of plastic
that could have ended up in my normal
bin, 71 pieces (2%) such as milk bottles 4%
pieces would 6%
would be recovered by staff at waste 161 items
centres and sent to recycling facilities recycled in
the UK 289 items

be exported 60%
in the UK or overseas.
exported

2,627
from the UK items 28%
every year, and burned 1,247
items
ultimately dealt landfilled
with by other
countries24.
36 37
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC

How much
ideal of what’s known as the circular
economy. This is definitely something
that we should be aiming for.

of the Realistically however, there is an

unavoidable loss during the plastic

recycled recycling process. It is hard to extract

pure plastic type that hasn’t been

1.3% 0.2% plastic is

contaminated by other plastics, food
residues, chemicals etc. Usually, only
a small percentage of the plastic

of the plastic I threw used to

of the plastic I threw
collected for recycling is of a quality
that satisfies food grade packaging

produce
standards for instance. This means
away is made from away is made from that only a fraction of the plastic is
recycled into new packaging. The rest
recycled materials plant-based materials
(only 59 pieces!) new plastic?
(only 8 pieces!)
is used to create other types of
products like a fleece jacket or a park
bench, both example of which are not
currently recyclable.
One of the most stark
statistics revealed by the
analysis of the plastic
types present in my plastic
Only 1.3% of
waste is that only 59 pieces my throwaway
are made from recycled
materials (precisely, plastic waste
The rest is made The rest recycled
is made
from newly-made from oil or gas
PET).
is made from
plastic This is 1.3% of my total collection of
throwaway plastic waste. recycled
This number says a lot about the huge
limitations of our current recycling
materials
system. Bear this in mind when you’re
cleaning, disposing, putting the bin out,
watching it get collected etc., that only
1.3% of the plastic I threw away is made
from recycled plastic.

If 4% of my plastic waste would end

up being recycled as we show above,
surely we should expect 4% of the
pieces to be made of recycled plastic?
The difference between the two
represents what is called downcycling.
When we think of recycling, we imagine
a plastic bottle being recycled into a
new plastic bottle, over and over again.
This perfect and infinite loop is the

39
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC

How much
as the primary raw materials to
produce plastic. Not only that, but
they are used to power the plastic

energy, manufacturing plants and transport

the finished products across the globe.

natural
If the amount of oil used to produce
my plastic waste was refined to make
petrol, it would create 49 litres. This

resource
1.3% 0.2%
is enough to get me from my home in
Margate to Edinburgh in my VW Polo

and raw
travelling at an average speed
of 50mph31.

of the plastic I threw of the plastic I threw

material The amount of energy manufacturers
away is made from
would use to make the 4,490 pieces away is made from
was used to
of plastic that I consumed in 2017
recycled materials
would amount to 713 kilowatt hours32. plant-based materials
(only 59 pieces!)
That is enough energy to power your
(only 8 pieces!)
produce all laptop for 9,507 non-stop hours. If you
use a laptop in your average Monday

my plastic
to Friday 9am to 5pm job, that would
keep it going for over five years33.

waste? What natural resource does every

manufacturing process have in
common? Water, and lots of it. To
make the amount of plastic I used in a
Another startling statistic year would take 1,736 litres - roughly a
revealed by the analysis of The rest is made
months’ worth of daily showers34. The rest is made
the plastic types present from newly-made from oil or gas
in my collection is that plastic
Water is not the only resource that
PLA (plastic made from is used in plastic production. A whole
range of chemicals and resources
plant-based materials28), are extracted, processed and
considered by some to emitted before, during and after the
be the saviour of plastic production of plastic. Manufacturing,
production, was used transportation, energy supply and
to produce only 8 waste management all contribute
significantly to CO2 emissions and
pieces - 0.2% of the our carbon footprint. The amount of
whole collection29. plastic that I would have thrown away
would have contributed 69 kg CO2e to
If only 0.2% of my collection is plant- my carbon footprint35.
based, this means that 99.8% is fossil
fuel-based. Every crisp packet, straw,
milk bottle, pair of sunglasses is made Every crisp packet,
from oil or gas.
straw, milk bottle,
Oil and/or gas are the key components
of the plastic manufacturing process.
pair of sunglasses is
Oil and gas are extracted and refined made from oil or gas.
40
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

The verdict:
We’re not being
told the truth
about
recycling
42 43
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

In 2016, while out on a unfortunate truth... We are not being everyday language, but really they’re calculated that 67% of the packaging
told the truth about recycling. just catchy phrases that have been I threw away was used to pack, wrap
run, I stumbled across a dreamt up in boardrooms. I work in or consume food. More pointedly, our
pile of plastic entangled When I emptied my year-long marketing, and I never thought I’d say everyday items such as vegetables,
in washed-up seaweed. collection of plastic waste from the this, but we really are being sold stuff nuts, bread, fruit, crisps, cereal,
Shortly after, a query to 22 bin bags I’d accumulated, filling we do not need. pasta, toilet paper, chocolate bars,
the floor of a massive warehouse washing tablets, chips, sugar,
my local council regarding with thousands of familiar products There is an epidemic of coffee and cheese are all pointlessly
plastic recycling garnered and brands, I was struck by shock packaged in flimsy, thin, low value,
over-production and over-
the response: “I’m afraid it’s and sadness. This was all the stuff I’d non-recyclable plastic film - and
consumption.​
not available where you live”. bought, used and chucked away in that plastic film made up nearly half
2017. Such is the nature of our fast- of everything I used.
moving throwaway society, I barely The temptation to buy shiny new
I struggled to compute this. Why was things is always going to be present
the opportunity for me to help the
remembered using any of it. Collecting
because it’s how our modern society is
If most of it cannot be
my plastic waste for a year certainly
environment, tackle plastic pollution
says a lot about me, but it also says a programmed. To resist consuming is to reused and none of it can
and responsibly dispose of my plastic
lot about us. swim against the tide. be recycled, then why are
waste being denied? Recycling is our
way of doing good, right?
we so reliant on plastic film
When you’re choosing between Hula
Each piece of plastic waste Hoops and Wotsits on your next lunch
and how have we ended up
Ignorance is bliss and recycling allows is the legacy of a decision break, consider the packaging, just for in a situation where there
us to obliviously get rid of our plastic made, a thirst quenched, a moment: where did it come from? are no alternatives?
waste. Sadly, it far from gets rid of the
problem. a belly filled, a wardrobe Who made it? How many resources
were used, how many hours and how Sitting here, writing this in
brightened or an iPhone much energy did it take to create? That September 2018, almost two years
In fact, plastic recycling isn’t just unpacked. crisp packet was specifically designed after I decided to start the Everyday
inadequate, it is a complete failure. to be thrown away. Then pause to Plastic project, I’m a reformed and
Illustrated by the statistic that only 4% We’re sleepwalking through consider that: it has been specifically recovering consumer. From childhood
of my plastic waste would actually be supermarkets aisles, shopping malls designed to be thrown away. This to adulthood, I’ve made hundreds,
recycled, it exposes plastic recycling and online retailers, consuming needs to be urgently addressed. probably thousands of gratuitous
as a system that barely exists in this without opening our eyes or purchases, but now I’ve stopped
country. More of the plastic that you acknowledging the product wrapped
throw into your recycling bin is actually
We need to design stuff buying things in the same way that I
in plastic packaging that we’re holding used to.
sent to another country, and many in our hands. And here lies the heart of that doesn’t have to be
people living in extreme poverty will the issue. thrown away. ​ Reducing my consumption
work, eat and sleep amongst it. I don’t
know about you, but that makes me We need to keep plastic waste in has made way for greater
Plastic pollution is a
feel really angry and upset. the system and out of the natural resourcefulness
by​-product of consumerism environment, and move towards a and creativity.
One year of throwing away 4,490 circular economy. It’s funny to refer
pieces of plastic waste made me - a culture that perfectly blends the to a much loved piece of packaging
interests of the economy and society. My fridge is less full, I reuse tubs
stop and re-think. Recycling is a that almost became obsolete, but and jars, I buy longer-lasting tinned
smokescreen. To make it work, we When a culture takes root, it grows, the glass milk bottle is a perfect
and our throwaway consumer culture goods, I repair my things (badly) and
have to massively improve and invest example of a circular economy. It’s unsurprisingly, I’m a fully functional
in infrastructure, but also significantly has been both subtly indoctrinated delivered, consumed, returned,
and warmly embraced. human being with the things that I
reduce what we produce and use. washed, sterilised, refilled with milk, already have.
delivered and repeated. After it’s been
We need to consciously and
Recycling is not and never purposefully take back control of
through this cycle around 25 times, These conclusions are by no means
it’ll get melted down and turned back
will be the sole solution. our decision-making from the hands into a milk bottle, ready to start the
extensive. I haven’t touched on
of marketers, advertisers, retailers, the influence of the fossil fuel
sequence again. industry, local authority funding
It’s amazing how your mindset shareholders and policy-makers.
can change over the course of a Impulse buys, retail therapy and cuts, recycling target exploitation,
Food packaging waste is having a how the packaging industry should
year and this very personal and convenience stores are etched into huge impact on our environment. We
exploratory journey has revealed a very pay their way, government and
44 45
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC
industry transparency on collection

How can I
and disposal, subsidies for innovators,
supermarket superiority and so on.

reduce my
The key objective of this experiment
was always to improve our
understanding of our individual impact

own individual
on plastic pollution. I want to share as
much as I’ve learned over this two year
investigation as possible, so you don’t

impact
have to go through the same laborious
and lengthy process. Everyday Plastic
provides us with a very personal

on plastic
connection to the plastic waste we
throw away.

Learning to connect with and

reduce what we consume
not only addresses the issue
pollution
of plastic pollution, it can Collecting every piece of plastic
also improve our society as I used in a year took willpower,
motivation and a shift in habit. This
a whole. can easily be applied to reducing the
amount of plastic we use. We need
After all, plastic to swap convenience for a stubborn
resistance. It can be done.
pollution is There are steps you can take that turn out to be

not just an
cheaper and easier in the long run than using
plastic. If I’d have completely given up plastic
water bottles, coffee cups, straws, stirrers,
environmental cutlery, bags and shower gel, I would have thrown
away 316 fewer items in 2017.

issue. It’s Even if we applied this amnesty to half the UK

a human one.
population, we could prevent 10 billion pieces
from entering the waste system. And this is the
key. Reducing the amount of plastic we produce
and consume reduces the impact on our global
waste system.

So don’t let anyone

ever tell you that
individuals can’t
make a difference!

46 47
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC EVERYDAY PLASTIC

Footnotes References
1 / English local authorities spend more than £700 17 / All the data are based on the UK Household a. i.
million on street cleaning every year a. Plastics Collection Survey 2017 published by Recoup c​ . How clean is England? The Local How to use less plastic and help
2 / Kent County Council sent 49.1% of the waste to 18 / See Appendix 2 - Table 6. Environmental Quality Survey of England save the planet. Which?, August
make energy in the period 2015/16 b 2014/15. Keep Britain Tidy, 2015. http://www. 2018. https://magazine.which.co.uk/
19 / The difference between Recyclable (30%) and
3 / See Appendix 1. collected for recycling (10%) can be explained by keepbritaintidy.org/sites/default/files/ editions/edition_w0818/data/9492/
two factors: resource/LEQSE%202014-15.pdf index.html?utm_medium=Email&utm_
4 / See Appendix 2 - Table 1. UK households consumed
1 Not all local authorities offer a collection service. e.g.
594 million kg of plastic bottles in 2016 c​ ​. By dividing
only 19% of local authorities have a scheme to collect source=ExactTarget&utm_
this number by 65,648,100 - the estimated UK b. campaign=Magazine_Preview_Aug18
plastic film ​c​.
population in 2016 d​ ​- we calculate that 9kg of plastic
bottles were consumed per person in the UK in 2016. 2 The fact that an item doesn’t end in the right bin: Kent Waste Disposal Strategy 2017-2035
For example, a person might not sort their waste; is Strategy Document. Kent County Council, j.
5 / See Appendix 2 - Table 1. UK Households consumed confused by which pieces can be recycled or in which
525 million kg of plastic pots, tubs and trays in 2016 ​c​. bin they should go; or does not have the means to go 2017. https://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/ Plastics crisis set to intensify as more
By dividing this number by 65,648,100 - the estimated to a collection point located far from their house to assets/pdf_file/0007/67093/Kent-Waste- countries look to restrict foreign waste.
UK population in 2016 d​ ​- we calculate that 8kg of dispose of their sorted waste. “Fewer than one in ten Disposal-Strategy.pdf Joe Sandler Clarke and Emma Howard,
plastic pots and trays were consumed per person in shoppers (9%) always or often take packaging back to Unearthed, 14 June 2018. https://unearthed.
the UK in 2016. a supermarket to be recycled”​ i​.
c. greenpeace.org/2018/06/14/china-
6 / See Appendix 2 - Table 1. In 2010, 10.4 billion packs 20 / All data are from c​ . UK Household Plastics Collection Survey plastics-ban-malaysia-vietnam-poland/
of crisps and savoury snacks were bought in the UK e​ .
For an estimated population of 62,769,500 people in 21 / See Appendix 2 - Table 7. 2017. Recoup, 2017. http://www.recoup.
2010​d​, we calculate that on average, 166 packs were 22 / See Appendix 2 - Table 7. org/p/229/uk-household-plastics- k.
consumed per person. 23 / 37% precisely c​ ​. collection-survey-2017 Incineration of Municipal Solid Waste.
7 / See Appendix 2 - Table 1. The total plastic DEFRA, February 2013. https://assets.
24 / See Appendix 2 - Table 7.
packaging consumed by UK households in 2016 d. publishing.service.gov.uk/government/
weighted 2.26 billion kg c​ ​. By dividing this number by 25 / See Appendix 2 - Table 7. UK population estimates. Office for uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
65,648,100 - the estimated UK population in 2016d​
- we calculate that 34.4kg of plastic packaging was
26 / See Appendix 2 - Table 7. National Statistics. https://www.ons.gov. data/file/221036/pb13889-incineration-
consumed per person in the UK in 2016. 27 / See Appendix 2 - Table 5. uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/ municipal-waste.pdf
8 / 31kg of plastic packaging waste per person was 28 / See Appendix 1. populationandmigration/
produced in the EU in 2014​f​. 29 / See Appendix 2 - Table 5
populationestimates l.
9 / For this estimation we divided 2.3 million tonnes by
Formation of PCDDs, PCDFs, and Coplanar
30 / See Appendix 2 - Table 8. e. PCBs from Polyvinyl Chloride during
the average weight of an adult (70kg). This equals the
weight of 32.9 million people. 31 / My VW Polo 2009, with a 1.4 engine consumes Crisps: a very British habit. Jon Henley, The Combustion in an Incinerator. Katami et al..
44.8 MPG o​ ​. 49 L = 10.8 gallons, therefore I could drive Guardian, 1 September 2010. https://www. Environmental Science & Technology, 2002,
10 / Over the course of a year, 22 bin bags with an 80 for 484 miles with 49 litres of petrol.
litre capacity were filled with my plastic waste. This theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/sep/01/ 36 (6), pp 1320–1324. https://pubs.acs.org/
adds up to 1,760 litres. We decided to reduce the 32 / The whole energy consumption used to produce crisps-british doi/abs/10.1021/es0109904
volume of the bags by 20% to account for leaving the 4,490 pieces of the collection is 2,567 MJ or 713
space to tie the bags closed bringing the volume to KWh (see Appendix 2 - Table 8). For a laptop using an
1,408 litres (or 1.5m3). For the whole UK population this average of 75W per hour p​ ​, this means enough energy f. m.
represents 92,432,525m3, or a cone with a base of to power the laptop for 9,507 hours or 1188 days (8h a Changing the way we use Plastics. Green businesses and cities at risk: How
1074 meters in diameter or 906,201 m2 (90.6 hectares) day) or 3.3 years. Factsheet. European Commission, 2018. your waste management plan may be
in surface for an elevation of 306 meters. 33 / Calculated for 8 hours per day, 5 days a week with http://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular- leading you in the wrong direction. GAIA,
11 / All percentages are based on the number of 28 days of holidays per year which represents 1,856 economy/pdf/pan-european-factsheet.pdf 2017. http://www.no-burn.org/wp-content/
pieces. For percentages based on weight, see hours of work per year. 9,507 hours would then be
equivalent of 5.1 years of work. uploads/Businesses-and-cities-at-risk.pdf
Appendix 2 - Table 1.
g.
12 / See Appendix 2 - Table 3. The percentages given 34 / See Appendix 2 - Table 8. Calculated for a daily
shower of 7 min using 55L of water. International Plastic Recycling Groups n.
in this section are based on the identified pieces from
the Throwaway Plastic fraction (3,957 pieces). There Announce Global Definition of “Plastics Transport and release of chemicals from
35 / See Appendix 2 - Table 8.
were pieces whose purpose we couldn’t identify. They Recyclability”. Plastic Recyclers Europe, 12 plastics to the environment and to wildlife.
were either too small, too ripped, too indefinable. July 2018. https://plastics-recyclers-europe. Teuten et al.. Philosophical Transactions
These ‘Bits and Bobs’ amounted to 439 pieces, 10% of prezly.com/international-plastic-recycling- of the Royal Society B, 2009, V 364.
my whole plastic waste in number of pieces, but only
2% in weight.
groups-announce-global-definition-of- http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/
plastics-recyclability# content/364/1526/2027
13 See Appendix 2 - Table 4.
14 / See Appendix 2 - Table 5. h. o.
15 / The Resin Identification Coding System (RICS) is Waste crisis: Australia isn’t recycling, Car Emissions website. https://car-
a set of symbols appearing on plastic products that we’re ‘just collecting’. Nick Miller, The emissions.com/cars/model/Volkswagen/
identify the plastic resin out of which the product
is made. Resin is another word for plastic most
Sydney Morning Herald, 5 May 2018. polo/2009
commonly used in the industry. For more information https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/
see Appendix 1. waste-crisis-australia-isn-t-recycling- p.
16 / See Appendix 2 - Table 5. we-re-just-collecting-20180504-p4zdau. How much power does a computer use?
html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_ And how much CO2 does that represent?
medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%20 energuide.be https://www.energuide.be/
2018-05-07%20Waste%20Dive%20 en/questions-answers/how-much-power-
Newsletter%20%5Bissue:15201%5D&utm_ does-a-computer-use-and-how-much-
term=Waste%20Dive co2-does-that-represent/54/

48 49
 EVERYDAY PLASTIC

About our What We Do:

supporters
We Protect the Environment
We call for better legislation and
stronger action to address complex
environmental issues, including

Surfers
marine litter, sewage and diffuse
pollution, climate change, and coastal
development. We also take direct

Against action, creating a powerful network of

coastal campaign leaders, and running

Sewage
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awareness campaigns to target these
issues head-on.

Surfers Against Sewage is a We Challenge Industry

national marine conservation We produce and promote scientific,
and campaigning charity economic and health evidence to support
that inspires, unites and calls for a cleaner and safer marine
empowers communities environment. We also lobby industry to
to take action to protect adopt better standards to protect our
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and wildlife. We Influence Government
We talk to MPs, MEPs and county
Surfers Against Sewage has the support
councils about key issues affecting
of thousands of members across the
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UK. Together, we speak out for the
recreational water users, and the
protection of the coastal environment –
policies and legislation needed to
your oceans, waves and beaches.
better protect them.
We’re not just surfers and we’re not
We Motivate People
just about sewage. We’re a voice for all
We create volunteering opportunities
water users and coastal enthusiasts,
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tonnes of marine litter every year and
our education programme inspires planet and profit.
Our HQ is in St Agnes, Cornwall, but we Sustainable, impactful,
Change
thousands of school children nationwide
cover all 19,491 miles of UK coastline,
protecting beaches, monitoring water
to get involved. We also support visual outputs that
quality, organising beach cleans,
communities with environmental engage people and
initiatives on achievable, sustainable
developing Plastic Free Communities,
solutions, which can help protect our
inspire action.
running educational tours, challenging
waves, oceans and beaches.
government and industry, reporting leap.eco
on pollution, and campaigning for the
For more information on all of our
protection and conservation of your [email protected]
campaigns, environmental initiatives
local spots. @leapness
and opportunities, please visit our
website: sas.org.uk

50
APPENDIX PP: Polypropylene. This is the second

1. Plastics
most produced plastic after PE
(Polyethylene). Polypropylene can be
processed into film, for packaging such

Glossary
as snack wrappers, and is also used
for rigid containers like hummus and
margarine pots.

PET: Polyethylene terephthalate. This PS: Polystyrene. Polystyrene can be

is the plastic used for water and soda solid or foamed. Foamed polystyrene,
bottles. It is also used in packaging for known as Expanded Polystyrene (EPS)
trays, cups and pots. PET can also be is used in protective packaging and in
processed into fibre where it is better takeaway containers, whereas the solid
known as Polyester and is widely used in form is used in packaging for yogurt
clothes. pots for instance.

R-PET: Recycled Polyethylene

terephthalate. It is used in the same
way as PET. Others (including)
ABS: Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.
PE: Polyethylene. It is the most produced This is mostly used for electronic
plastic and the number one plastic used appliances and vehicles, rarely used
for packaging under its High- and Low- for packaging.
density forms (HDPE and LDPE).
PLA: Polylactic acid. PLA is a bioplastic
derived from renewable resources like
corn or sugar cane. It is degradable
HDPE: High-density Polyethylene. HDPE under certain conditions. It is used in
is used for rigid containers like milk, packaging for cups and trays or coffee
shampoo, cleaning products bottles etc. cup lids.

Multilayered packaging: Packaging such

as crisp bags or coffee pouches are
LDPE: Low-density Polyethylene. LDPE made by the juxtaposition of film layers
is used for film packaging/wrapping, like of different materials. This packaging
plastic bags, bread bags, toilet paper is designed to combine the different
wrap etc. functional properties of the different
materials (light, moist and oxygen
barriers; strength etc.). The plastics
LDPE, PET and PP are commonly used as
PVC: Polyvinyl Chloride. This is the well as alumina.
third most produced plastic after PE

2. Data
(Polyethylene) and PP (Polypropylene),
but it is used mostly in construction and
buildings and not so much in packaging.
Please refer to the data tables
available online at everydayplastic.org/
report-appendix
everydayplastic.org
[email protected]

@everydayplastic @plasticeveryday

Photo: All photography © Ollie Harrop 2018.

Images courtesy of Everyday Plastic.
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