How Much Plastic Do You Waste?
Recycling, in some ways it is an everyday part of our lives.
As we use items we separate what can go in the recycling bin from what can’t. In fact, here we have two recycling bins. Which we often fill every fortnight compared to the allowed 1 “normal” rubbish.
While many of us try our best to recycle what we can, there is so much more that could be done.
A recent survey from Seareach, questioned people across the UK on what they thought about current recycling techniques.
Recycling Research
3,000 over 18s were questioned in this research and the results were perhaps very telling.
It is clear to read in articles based on it, such as this one.
That consumers want manufacturers to be more proactive.
They also want more transparency on what is happening with the waste we are placing in our recycle bins.
After all, just what does happen to it once we have spent our time separating it?
Something which is also becoming more clear is people want less packaging.
In fact, 39% of the people surveyed believe too much packaging is often used.
I have to admit it isn’t something I’ve overly thought about, bar the times I’ve wondered why something seems to have multiple layers of packaging.
For instance, Ash bought some cupcakes the other week and not only did they have a plastic inner carton but also a cardboard outer. Yes, it looks cute, but it was in all honestly unnecessary.
Recycling Confusion
It was also very clear from the stats that people feel they aren’t getting enough information.
24% are unsure what you can and can’t recycle.
11% feel they don’t have the ability to recycle properly locally.
While 6% felt recycling labels were poor and that information out there was confusing.
Recycling Help
Those surveyed also had some great ideas on how they could get some recycling help.
68% felt that recycling stations at their local supermarket, for all packaging types would be a great idea.
67% were all about clear and consistent labelling.
While 65% want councils to be more transparent about recycling.
One idea which was mentioned by 35% of people, was the ability to scan barcodes on an app and recycling information be brought up.
As a society which is very digitally switched on, I think this is a great idea.
It would allow for more detailed information to be put across.
They could even include things like the nearest recycling locations. After all, bins are often seen with a “rubbish” and “recycling” side.
So I would happily check a bottle while out and about and throw it in a recycling bin, rather than dumping it in the rubbish.
I think all of us try to do our best but fall at some points. It is obvious that us as consumers, as well as brands and our local councils, can all look to do more to make recycling more common and an easier practice for all.
How do you find recycling, is it something that comes naturally to you, what changes would you like to see happen around it?
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Because of covid-19, we’ve been shopping online these days and I shudder at the amount of plastic that is used in packaging. We recycle the bubble wraps but seriously, how much bubble wrap does one need?
I recycle as much as I can and have stopped buying lots of things like handwash and shower gel but I think there is still more we could all do.
Most definitely I am with you there, we can always look to do more.
Thanks for the article, very interesting figures – would find it helpful if the local councils made leaflets on what you can and can’t recycle, provide extra bins as we often fill ours up really quickly and bins are only collected once a fortnight. X
I buy loose veg and fruit to cut down on plastic,plus looking into buying metal drinking straws x
It is very disheartening when we do all we currently can to recycle plastic,as revealed by Greenpeace,much of it is being dumped in land-fill-in Malaysia.
It is horrid isn’t it 🙁 it’s like all our effort is for nothing.
We waste lot of plastic.It is not easy to recycle,re-purpose or reuse all the plastics which we use daily.But,we recycle a portion.Where possible,we also try reusing.This article opens our mind…
I am glad it is has helped you think a bit more about what happens to our plastics.
I have minimized the use of plastic in my day to day life. No plastic, no confusion! ha
It is great that so many people are doing as much as possible.
I have always recycled diligently. I would like further ways to do so. It annoys me that around where I live there is no food recycling which they have done in a small village area where my husband family are. Why isn’t this the same all over the country.
In the past few years I have become even more focused as the media has sharpened our awareness. The supermarkets, other shops and manufacturers need to be doing more to reduce the plastic waste in their supermarkets/shops/firms.
As for the coffee shops and restaurants that sell take outs they need to be enforced to do more or/and face unlimited fines. I have my own mug from a coffee shop, I take out with me. I don’t care which coffee shop I am with the make on the side of my mug. They can use it so I ensure they do.
Most definitely I think there is so much more everyone can do.
I’ve not heard of food recycling before in villages – what a great idea perhaps it will become more common!
Plastics are so harmful to the environment especially when not disposed with care. No wonder plastics were banned here in Kenya an the environment looks cleaner.
We are trying to reduce the amount of plastic we use but it’s a struggle as so much stuff comes in plastic packaging
It is crazy isn’t it – so many things are over-packaged.
I don’t use plastic because it is bad for our health and environment as well.
How have you managed to cut it out completely I would love to know your tips.
The world has become full of plastics. Recycling must really be done by everyone. It should be a collective effort.
Most definitely I think we all need to play our parts.
I drink alot of soda water which is in plastic bottles as its just so easy to pick up bottles than travel to a different town to get gas for my soda stream bottles, however I am now making an effort to drink plain filtered tap water.
Good luck! It can be hard to change a habit, can’t it.
This is a great reminder to recycle and to not waste so much plastics. I really want to improve my carbon footprint and use less plastics and waste in general.
Good luck with making a difference with your carbon footprint!
I did an expert with my class to monitor the amount we could recycle of our trash. It was really interesting that the recyclables ended up being more than the trash. It’s great that so much can be recycled, but extra packaging and such still adds a lot to the problem.
Oh I bet that was interesting to do and take part in!
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We definitely try and recycle as much as we can. There is so much waste in the world the least we can do is reuse all that is able to be.
Most definitely we all need to try and play our own little part.
We have so much plastic that goes into our recycling bin each week, I’m sure it’s increased in the last few years, and a lot of it isn’t really needed, it’s frustrating and it would be great if the shops reduced it.
Most definitely I think shops have a lot they can work on as do the companies who are producing the products. I like that Morrisons pay to have their carriers back when you have home delivery.
I do my best to recycle all plastic from packaging. Getting a filter and reusable bottle has definitely reduced the amount of plastic we consume.
I think having things like that around the home can really help – i have a bottle which I really should use more!
This always depresses me. As a society, we have looked for ways to simplify our lives without regard to what it has done to our planet. I hope we and our next generation try to do better.
Most definitely I think we are all trying to get better at it so as long as we carry on we are going the right way.
I really am trying to cut down my plastic waste and what I buy in the first place. This post is really interesting, thank you. Kaz
I am so glad you and others have found it interesting – it was fun to work on I think I learned a lot for sure.
It’s a shame there are no laws controlling use of plastic. It’s great that things like shampoo bars are now available to cut down on the use of plastics.
Most definitely I love that some companies are really starting to think outside the box.
Everywhere I have lived, we had different bins to allow for recycle, except in London, which is a shame. I try my best to reduce my plastic consumption though!
Oh that’s a shame I wonder why London hasn’t caught onto the trend yet.
I don’t know about my waste usage but I must say, I am a contributor of plastic wastes but I have started to lessen it by using reusable straw, containers and cloth bags instead of using plastic materials.
We all have to start somewhere and it sounds like you are off to a great start.
It’s so worrying how much excess plastic packaging seems to be on everything. We are big on recycling though.
It is hard isn’t it – we all have to try and play our part in reducing it.
I try and recycle as much as I can but I know there’s a lot more that I could be doing x
I think we do a lot without noticing as we are used to it and we don’t think about the extra we could do.
Thank you for all the useful information you gave us about plastic recycling activity. I love the idea to scan barcodes on an app and recycling information be brought up.
It is such a good idea isn’t it – easy way to get hold of information.
The community we live in has recycling boxes for each home. I love that all that plastic is going to a recycling plant now.
That’s great that they make sure every home has one :
)
And now I am ashamed 🙁 I do waste a lot of plastic. But posts like yours, are really inspiring, and make me want to do more for our Planet! So, thank you!
Good luck with trying to not waste so much plastic! I am glad my post and others like it have inspired you.
So much material is wasted with packaging. I think it’s good that a lot of people are calling that out as unacceptable.
It is crazy how things are so over packaged at time isn’t it.
Recycling should become more common and easier. In some areas, people are less aware of proper recycling procedure and also some councils need to be more active on this matter.
Yeah I think the councils do need to take some responsibility and make people more aware of how it works.
I am super guilty of huge plastic consumption. I want to be fully plastic free but it can get hard looking for an alternative especially when wet food is involved. Our city is plastic free tho when it comes to dry goods.
Most definitely shops don’t make it easy for us do they.
This helps clear up some things about recycling. It seems like a lot of things have needless excess packaging which can be wasteful. Thanks for sharing this.
It is a shame isn’t it – I hope the companies start thinking more about how they package things.
While I am sure I waste more than I know, I am proud that I am wearing shoes made from recycled water bottles!
Oh wow those sound like some amazing shoes!
The multiple layers of packaging on products drive me nuts! It’s so wasteful. I totally agree that clear and consistent labeling would be helpful. It might make more people want to recycle.
I can definitely get confused at times when trying to figure out recycling and labels. It’s so important though!
It is hard isn’t it – as not all plastic can be and sometimes it’s hard to work out which is which.
We are so eco-conscious. Everything from composting to recycling and reusing. But it is tough when so many things are packaged in plastic. I try to drink tap water as much as possible instead of bottled drinks or bottled water.
It sounds like you are as on top of everything as you can be!
Hi Sarah, I am most definitely into recycling. I get excited and hopeful when I visit my Canadian cousins and see that they not only recycle but have compost pick-up as well! There’s hope for us in the U.S.! Unfortunately, many communities in the Cleveland area do not recycle, but mine does! 🙂 I have about 30 plastic coffee containers that I refuse to throw away. I must find some way to repurpose them. lol
It’s sad here we used to have compost pick up but now they charge extra for so of course people aren’t going to bother – as it’s part of our council tax they collect bins anyway *sigh*. We share the payment with our neighbour and use his bin when needed as our grass clippings get taken away by the guy who mows the lawn luckily or we’d be paying for a whole one too.
I know my family waste more than we should. Especially with us not recycling but they quit coming by our home and I don’t know where to take the items we would recycle.
Oh no that’s such a shame – does your local supermarket have any facilities? I know ours has some but not a huge amount.
I feel like we recycle a lot at home BUT do we ever really recycle enough???
I think it is one of those things we could always do better with.
I was really surprised to learn that most plastic does not get recycled and then it can only be recycled once and ends up in landfills and the ocean anyway. We are trying to switch to stainless bottles (and remember to take them with us) and to use reusable packaging and to avoid purchasing things already in plastic…even if it means skipping our favorite grapes.
Oh wow that’s such a shame – I think we definitely need to know more about what happens for sure!
I’m sure I waste a lot. I’m working on that. We do recycle but I could be doing so much better.
I think it’s one of those things we all have to keep on working at.
I try to recycle as much as possible and hope we are doing our earth and environment a good deed. I have heard that the energy to reuse something cancels out the good affects but I try anyway
That’s such a shame if it is true – but like you say we can but try.
My pet peeve is plastic bottles. Fill a mug or something pleant of options. Great reminder of what we can each do
There are so many around aren’t there – I’m trying to take my own drinks out more now.
The community we live in has recycling boxes for each home. I love that all that plastic is going to a recycling plant now.
That’s awesome we have the same here, every home as a bin for recycling. Sadly they have started charging to remove garden waste though on top so a lot of people aren’t doing that one anymore.
I really enjoyed reading this post. Recycling comes naturally to me. Unfortunately, my town only comes bi-weekly. Hoping that they’ll change it to weekly in the near future.
We only get it fortnightly as well – they switch it out with the non-recyclable waste, but we can get multiple recycling bins for free unlike the rubbish so that’s something.
I want to reduce my use even more. I use reusable bags and water bottles.
Reusable bags are awesome, I’ve noticed a lot of supermarkets have done away with 5p bags and only offer 10p ones now.
Thank you so much for sharing this! I try my best to limit my plastic use and recycle, but I think I could do better.
I think we can all look to do a little more I know I can!
I’m in Europe and they make things very simple here. Glass goes outside in big containers. Everything else is clearly delineated. It makes it really easy to recycle and I love it.
I’m in the UK so it’s probably similar here – but still a lot of things that could be done as per the post sadly.
I’ve been trying to cut down on the amount of plastic I buy and use in my home for just these reasons!
It’s hopefully going to get easier – I think supermarkets will have to listen at some point.
My general waste is almost all plastic packaging that is completely unnecessary. At 61 I worry about the amount of rubbish I’ve offloaded to landfill over my lifetime. I don’t want to leave this planet a mess for my grandchildren to clean up.
It is sad isn’t it – that we have thrown so much away – I am glad recycling is becoming more common and hopefully it will be something that in the future is just second nature.