Brit’s shocking photos of 4,490 pieces of plastic he used in a year… and 70 per cent can’t be recycled
CAMPAIGNER Daniel Webb has revealed how much plastic we get through in the UK and how little of it is recycled.
For a year Mr Webb, from Margate, Kent, collected all his waste plastic which amounted to 4,490 individual pieces.
His commitment to collecting waste plastic has revealed that 295 billion are thrown away in the UK every year, as his plastic consumption is close to average levels.
He found that the majority of his plastic waste was unrecyclable.
After totting up all plastic waste he binned Mr Webb realised some 93 per cent was single-use packaging, and two thirds was used to wrap food.
His Everyday Plastic report, compiled with Dr Julie Schneider, estimates that 70 per cent would not be recycled.
Only a tenth would, of which four per cent would be at UK facilities.
The remainder goes to landfill or is burned.
Mr Webb raised concerns that plastic recycling in the UK was a "poorly funded system" which needs significant investment and improvement.
He said: "We can't just rely on recycling to fix plastic pollution.
"Most importantly, we need to produce and use much less plastic.
“Our fast-moving disposable society means we are using more single-use things than ever. We need to rethink how we consume.”
Dr Schneider said: “Plastic bottles can be recycled but what about film that wraps our veg, pasta and sweets? All the plastic packaging stamped with the 'not currently recycled' logo?
"It turns out that 70 per cent of Daniel's plastic waste is not currently recyclable. This is an issue that needs to be addressed urgently. "
Hugo Tagholm, of charity Surfers Against Sewage, said: “The report exposes the sheer diversity and volume of single-use plastic we navigate daily, but as alarmingly, the inadequacy of current recycling systems, which only return a paltry amount of material back to shop shelves.
"Reducing the use of pointless plastics is a priority - there is just too much plastic currently being made."
- Firms which account for a fifth of the world’s plastic packaging, including Unilever and Coca Cola, have signed a global pledge to tackle the problem.
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