This May, between the 16th and 22nd, households and businesses all across the UK are counting the plastic that they use each day and tallying it as part of the Big Plastic Count.
The Big Plastic Count is an initiative from Greenpeace and Everyday Plastic to provide data that will help pass legislation to reduce plastic use in the UK.
The ultimate goal is to persuade the government to commit to reducing single plastic use by 50% by 2025 by switching to reusable options that work for everyone – and ban sending our waste to other countries.
At Beagle, we try to help shoppers reduce their plastic usage by popping up with plastic-free options when they are available, but we’re super aware of how hard it is to cut single-use plastic out of your life completely.
Why get involved?
This is one great way as an individual that you can get involved in creating major change in 2022!
When you sign up for the Big Plastic Count, they’ll send you a pack which tells you how and what to count as well as a handy plastic waste tally sheet.
Some things don’t need to be counted, such as medical items where there are no alternatives or composite materials that are really difficult to trace such as coffee cups.
When you submit the results, you’ll get an insight into your household’s plastic footprint and details of what happens to the waste when it leaves your home. You’ll also get genuine advice for some small changes you can make to reduce your waste!
The data will be anonymised, and will collectively show the scale of the issue to make real change.
Is The Beagle Button doing the Big Plastic Count? Yes!
We're getting involved by doing the challenge and sharing our tallies with you on our social channels, and also by spreading the word and encouraging our community to do the same.
We definitely think we’ll learn something - the physical act of counting our plastic waste makes the reality very clear, but it isn’t about feeling guilty. Changes need to come from the top, as well as from individual decisions, but we can be a clear resounding voice to instigate that change.
We hope that 2022 is the year when the UK’s plastic consumption does a turnaround, and you can be part of that along with us!