This year, Surfers Against Sewage are excited to be Everyday Plastic and Greenpeace UK to highlight the urgency and scale of the plastic problem. And we need your help.

From Devon to Dundee, more than 30,000 people are ready to count their plastic waste, as registration opens for The Big Plastic Count.

The Big Plastic Count is the UK’s largest survey into household plastic waste. In 2022, over 250,000 people showed, by collecting and counting a week’s worth of our plastic waste, that 2 BILLION pieces of plastic are being thrown away each week in the UK. That’s a shocking amount.

It’s super easy to get involved:

1. Register: Get your free counting pack (digital or via post) HERE
2. Get Counting: Count all your plastic waste from 11-17 March
3. Submit Results: Submit your data via the links in your pack by 31 March
4. Get Your Footprint: Discover your plastic footprint and use the results to make a difference.

By working together, we can show what really happens to our plastic waste. What we do know already, is that hardly any of it is recycled, only 12% in fact. With much of our plastic waste being burned, shipped abroad or left to languish in landfill. We know we can’t recycle our way out of the plastic crisis.

So as governments across the world continue negotiating a Global Plastic Treaty, and with the next meeting coming up in April, we have a once in a generation opportunity to finally stop the tide of plastic in our communities.

The treaty could lead to a legally binding global agreement on plastic pollution, but to make it work it needs countries like the UK to be ambitious. It’s time to call on supermarkets and big brands to take action. And for the UK government to stop delaying plastic reducing policies such as a Deposit Return Scheme, and Extended Producer Responsibility.

Your count will help us show the true scale of the plastic problem in the UK, and provide the evidence to make change happen.

Want to do more to act on plastic pollution? Join Plastic Free Communities, and become part of the UK’s leading plastic free movement. There’s lots of ways to get involved, so whether you are an individual looking for plastic free tips, run a business, or want to start your own local Plastic Free Community, head here to find out more.

If you are a school or nursery, and want to find out more about our Plastic Free Schools Programme, then head HERE

And to join us in the Big Plastic Count just click here to get your free pack and all the info you need.