The Plastic Free Communities Impact Report: ‘Remarkable’ grassroots action is turning the tide on plastic pollution

• 831 communities are signed up to Plastic Free Communities
• An estimated 29.4 million people live in a community working on the campaign
• Plastic is being reduced at an estimated rate of 43 million items per year, 67% of which is directly attributable to the campaign
• 4,590 businesses are enrolled, driving 90% of plastic reduction
• 230 councils have resolved to reduce plastic usage and support plastic free initiatives
• An estimated 16,620 people volunteer for the campaign

When Plastic Free Communities launched in 2017 the ambition was clear. 125 communities working on the SAS five step toolkit to start freeing where they live from avoidable, single use plastic.

Now, almost 30 million people live in a Plastic Free Community, removing millions of items of plastic pollution every year and tackling the brands and businesses behind it.

For the first time since its launch, we’ve delved into the movement to reveal its impact on plastic pollution and the communities that take part.

Plastic Free Communities is a grassroots campaign that empowers and connects people in a shared journey to free where they live from avoidable, throwaway plastic; from beaches, rivers and green spaces, all the way back to the brands and businesses who create it.

It centres on five objectives to achieve the Plastic Free Communities award:

1. Working with the local council
2. Encouraging local businesses to reduce single use plastic
3. Signing up community groups, schools and organisations
4. Holding events and actions
5. Setting up a steering group to drive the movement

Insley Consulting Ltd undertook an independent evaluation of the campaign in 2021, including the amount of plastic that has been reduced as a result. The ‘Plastic Free Communities: Freeing Where We Live from Single Use Plastic’ report pulls out key stats from the evaluation and looks at the future for the flagship SAS campaign.

Headlines

The research found that Plastic Free Communities are eliminating an estimated 43.3 million single use plastic items per year. 29 million of those items are directly attributable to the campaign. We estimate that you could fill a 25-metre swimming pool 14 times by the number of plastic cups and drinks bottles eliminated.

Businesses drove 90% of this plastic reduction and as a result it’s thought the plastic reduction figures may be an under-estimation, given only a proportion of Business Champions responded to the research survey.

92% of businesses were confident the plastics eliminated to get their award had not come back into use, notwithstanding Covid.

Overall, respondents reported a 94% reduction in single-use items they chose to tackle. But the pandemic has without doubt been a challenge, for all involved in the campaign. 47% of individuals and 33% of businesses increased the amount of single-use plastics due to Covid-19; largely because there was no choice in packaging, particularly when shopping online, using PPE for work or in Covid testing kits.

Wider Impact

The campaign has also sparked a wave of new environment and sustainability initiatives across the UK, with 80% of respondents saying they are more aware of local and global environmental issues. Plastic Free Communities were the biggest SAS volunteer cohort to take part in the Brand Audit, submitting evidence of plastic pollution where they live to put pressure on government and industry.

100 communities also collected evidence of plastic pollution as a result of Covid-19 for a research paper from National Geographic and The University of Plymouth, due out this Spring.

There is good evidence the campaign is having a positive impact on community cohesion too. People involved have a greater sense of feeling like they belong in their neighbourhood, 80% said they felt more connected to nature and their local environment, and they are considerably more likely to spend time outdoors than the population in general.

There is also some evidence that the campaign contributes towards a healthy local economy, with

95% of respondents saying they make an effort to use local businesses, and 90% preferring to use businesses who have taken action on becoming plastic free.

What’s next for Plastic Free Communities?

Plastic Free Communities has inspired and activated millions across the UK, greatly benefiting communities and significantly reducing the single use plastic usage of those involved. We have a clear and strong vision for 2022 and beyond. As a result of the Insley survey, we also know where we can build on this impact to bring about more change on a local and national level.

We will focus on how communities can work more effectively on the five-step toolkit, to support, empower and enable more to achieve the Plastic Free Communities award and build strong foundations for ongoing plastic reduction.

We want to reflect the diversity of our communities and tell their stories in order to raise awareness, share experience and use our learnings to create a more inclusive and accessible campaign.

We are developing platforms for our communities to build better links with each other and other SAS Communities, to strengthen and deepen grassroots action across the UK.

And we will continue to mobilise the movement through our national and local activism, forming a powerful collective voice that effectively campaigns for the protection of the ocean.

You can read the full ‘Plastic Free Communities: Freeing where we live from single-use’ report here

Find out more about the Plastic Free Communities toolkit

Businesses can get more information here

Or if you’d like an Individual Action Plan, click here