COMMUNITY GROUPS: JOIN THE BIG PLASTIC COUNT!
Count your plastic for one week – 11-17 March 2024.
For one week in March, thousands of schools, households, community groups and businesses will be coming together to count their plastic waste.
GET YOUR COMMUNITY INVOLVED
We’re all doing our bit to recycle, but plastic waste is still everywhere. And recycling alone isn’t going to solve the plastic problem.
This year, we have an incredible opportunity to end the plastic problem for good. Negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty are happening at the United Nations and we want the UK Government to push for a strong and ambitious treaty that protects people and planet from plastic production and pollution.
By getting your community involved in The Big Plastic Count, you can help gather evidence that will put pressure on the UK government to step up and take real action.
The Big Plastic Count is a great way of bringing people together and taking part is easy.
Follow these three simple steps to get your community involved:
GET REGISTERED
Send out messages encouraging your group members to sign up (and involve their household or family) on your Facebook groups, WhatsApp, Slack, or email.
TELL EVERYONE
Print out our posters (available in black and white, and in colour) and put them up in your community centre, workplace, or a local cafe. Use the graphics we provide to share on social media, and remember to use #BigPlasticCount
COUNT AND SUBMIT
Keep momentum throughout the week by keeping in contact about how you’re finding the Count and comparing notes.
SIGN UP AND RESOURCES
Each member of your group can sign up individually. We’ll send each person an action pack with resources to help them take part.
They will also receive fun emails and updates, plus a guide to how to get involved with other plastics campaigning and tips on how to reduce their plastic, at the end of the Count!
Resources
We have resources to encourage your community group take part, including:
-Graphics to use across social media - download a zip file of different graphics.
-Promotional copy to encourage schools to sign-up, including email copy and social media posts
- Promotional copy to encourage households to sign-up, including email copy and social media posts.
-Posters for communal areas - available for you to print out in black and white, and in colour.
-Logos - download a zip file of logos to use digitally here and in print here.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
The Big Plastic Count provides so many opportunities to come together and keep the momentum going.
At the end of the Count we recommend coming together as a group to reflect on what you’ve learnt. Where was most of your plastic likely to end up? Was it a shock?
Were you using more or less plastic than you thought? Where could plastic be reduced in your community?
Why not hold an event before, during or after the Count? Here are some suggestions:
-A less plastic picnic or party: encourage all attendees to bring picnic and party food to share, using as little plastic as possible
-A Q&A session with a local MP
-A community clean-up: it could be in the school grounds, or in a nearby park, woodlands, stream or beach
And don’t forget - by taking part in The Big Plastic Count, you’re contributing to tackling the plastic problem on a national scale. Thank you!