COUNTY council chiefs have revealed more than 60 pieces of plastic are being thrown away by each Worcestershire household every week
On average each household throws away 66 pieces of plastic every week which equates to nearly 100billion pieces of plastic packaging binned every year across the UK.
This information comes as the results of the Big Plastic Count have been released.
The Big Plastic Count is the biggest ever survey of household plastic waste which saw 100,000 families logging what they threw away in a week earlier this year.
It showed 83 per cent of the plastic thrown away was from food and drink packaging waste.
Recycling alone isn’t going to solve this problem, and we are all encouraged to reduce our packaging reliance by buying loose fruit and vegetables where possible and using a bag for life.
Alternatives can also be explored such as reusable water bottles, coffee cups and lunch boxes instead of foil/film wrapped sandwiches.
Coun Richard Morris, cabinet member for the Environment said: “These results, show it’s important for us all to try and reduce the amount of single use plastics we use and to try to recycle the correct plastics in our green bins.
“There may be confusion as to what can or cannot be recycled, and we sometimes end up with many unrecyclable plastics at our sorting plant, EnviroSort.
“I would urge residents who are unsure to look at the comprehensive list on the Envirosort website.”
Currently, Worcestershire householders can recycle a number of different plastics via their green wheelie bin. Last year 5,900 tonnes of mixed plastics for recycling were collected and sent for reprocessing.
The plastics that can be recycled include all plastic bottles – drinks, shampoo, bleach and washing up liquid for example.
Cream, yoghurt and jelly pots and margarine, ice cream and takeaway tubs also can be recycled as can trays used for fruit punnets, meat trays and cake/pastry trays.
Households can also take plastic film such as bread bags, frozen food bags, plastic carrier bags and many others to local supermarkets where they will be recycled
Visit www.recyclenow.com/repeatthecycle to find your nearest store and what is accepted or www.severnwaste.com/envirosort/what-can-i-recycle for a list of what can go in a green bin.
