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Join the Big Plastic Count

Update 26 March 2026
Last month, as part of Green Norwood, we publicised The Big Plastic Count (see below) - an activity across the UK which asked people to count all the plastic they used in a week, so that government knows just how much we all use. And to inform a campaign to cut plastic production. Our Chair, Jane East took part and here are her numbers:

During The Big Plastic Count over a week in March, Jane used 23 bits of plastic.
Most of it (69%) was packaging for food and drink.
Over half of it was soft plastic.
She is trying not to use too much, but if everybody in the UK used as much as she does, that's 33 trillion bits of plastic every year.
 
Very little plastic gets recycled (about 15% in the UK) and soft plastics are especially difficult. It is hard to avoid. But there are a few things we can all do. Jane purposefully buys her veg loose and buys all of her cleaning materials and toiletries in bulk to avoid endless plastic bottles. She carries a water flask and a reusable mug. None of this is difficult. 
 
To find out more Home | The Big Plastic Count It's a campaign to encourage government to take action to cut plastic usage and production and stop shipping out plastic waste overseas.

From 9 - 15 March 2026, thousands of people across the UK will be counting every piece of plastic packaging they throw away - to uncover the true scale of the UK’s plastic problem and call on the government to do more about it. Join in. 

Plastic is part of the climate change problem. Almost all plastics are made from fossil fuels – coal, oil, or gas – and emit greenhouse gases at every single stage of their lifecycle. If we produce less plastic, we can reduce emissions. 
Part of our plan for Green Norwood is to ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’, and that includes helping us all to use less plastic in our community.
The Big Plastic Count will run from 9 to 15 March. Thousands of people from households, schools and communities across the country will take part in the UK’s biggest people-powered investigation into household plastic waste.
By taking part, you’ll help gather important evidence to show the true scale of the crisis – and to tell the government we need them to produce less plastic. 

Find out more and sign up here. Home | The Big Plastic Count