HOW IT STARTED
Back in 2017, Everyday Plastic founder Daniel Webb decided to see how much plastic he threw away. For one year, he collected and counted every single piece of his plastic waste – and there were 4,490 items in total.
Working with a scientific researcher, Daniel came up with a way to work out his plastic profile. It revealed how much of his waste was recycled, burned, buried, or shipped abroad.
His experiment started a national conversation that inspired The Big Plastic Count. It gives everyone in the UK the chance to see what happens to their plastic waste once it leaves their home.
THE STORY SO FAR
The Big Plastic Count was launched in 2022 by Greenpeace and Everyday Plastic. It is the UK’s biggest people-powered investigation into household plastic waste. Since then, almost half a million people have taken part. Over 11 million pieces of plastic have been counted.
The results have been impossible to ignore: most of our plastic isn’t recycled. The majority is burned in the UK, while the rest is sent overseas or to landfill.
Together, we found out the truth behind the UK’s big plastic problem. We took our findings straight to Parliament, where school pupils asked MPs to take action.
WHERE WE’RE GOING
In 2025, The Big Plastic Count started a new chapter which will run until 2028, thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund.
We’re focused on deepening the story, and broadening who gets to tell it. The conversation around plastic needs to change. It needs to be clearer, more inclusive, and based on real-life experiences.
Over the next few years, we’ll bring new voices to the front of our work. We'll explore how plastic affects our climate and our communities. And we'll look at the whole plastic lifecycle – from how it's made to what happens when it's thrown away.
WHO WE’RE WORKING WITH
Led by Everyday Plastic, The Big Plastic Count is all about working together. We’re partnering with Global Learning London, Disability Rights UK, and Keele University. These organisations bring important knowledge and experience of racial justice, disability inclusion, and research. We're also working with Plastic Clever Schools as our official education partner to help us deliver The Big Plastic Count to schools across the country.
We've also created five Advisory Groups in Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, and Tower Hamlets in London. These groups reflect the communities we most want to reach. Their lives, local knowledge and views will shape the future of The Big Plastic Count.
Together, we’re building a movement that listens, learns, and acts. We're making sure that every voice is heard as we work towards a fairer future.
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