Over the last month, 225,000 participants from schools, businesses and homes across the country joined a large-scale investigation into the UK's household waste problem. The data was collected in what was known as the Big Plastic Count 2024, hosted by Greenpeace to raise national awareness of the significant issue on our hands today. 

The results were published in a video and on Greenpeace's web page, where it was reported that 1.7 billion pieces of plastic are discarded weekly. The organisation announced that, of this constant output of plastic waste, only 17% was recycled, with the rest incinerated, disposed of in landfill sites, or exported. 

Plastic waste has not only rocketed in recent years, but also, due to unsustainable methods of manufacturing and disposing of it, as well as littering in public spaces, it has been detrimental to health and the environment. Incinerating plastic or disposing of it in landfill can release toxic gases that only worsen health effects caused by air pollution. Furthermore, it has been proven that microplastics degrade soil and reduce soil fertility, which affects both wild plant species and crops. Plastic polymers do not biodegrade, and when they are left in habitats can trap or suffocate animals that get caught in netting and plastic bags. 

Although there are limited definitive links between microplastics in water systems and detrimental effects to human health, there are suggestions that ingesting microplastics in water can lead to adverse effects in humans, such as exposure to toxins absorbed by the plastic or cardiovascular diseases. 

This study serves to highlight the consequences of our continued use of plastic, and the increasing urban population and consumption of packaged products will only cause this to become a more serious concern in the future. Supermarkets, governments, and businesses have promised changes in plastic use, but so far they have taken fewer steps than we would have hoped towards a more sustainable future. 

Writing letters to local MPs, signing petitions, and being aware of plastic waste in your own household are all encouraged by Greenpeace to build a safer future. Ultimately, both community and corporate action are needed to reduce the harmful effects of plastic pollution.