Campaigner collects every plastic item he used for a year... and the results are shocking

Yahoo UK Staff
Daniel Webb collected more than 4,000 single use plastic items in one year. (PA)
Daniel Webb collected more than 4,000 single use plastic items in one year. (PA)

An environmental campaigner has highlighted the shocking extent of Britain’s plastic use – by displaying every plastic item he used in a year.

Daniel Webb spent a year storing all the plastic waste he threw in the bin, collecting a staggering 4,490 individual pieces of plastic.

Britons throw away around 295 billion pieces of plastic every year, much of which is single-use and cannot be recycled, a report suggests.

Not a-peel-ing: Fruit and vegetable nets saved by Mr Webb over the year. (PA)
Not a-peel-ing: Fruit and vegetable nets saved by Mr Webb over the year. (PA)
Other miscellaneous plastic used by Mr Webb in the year included insoles, paint tins, toothbrush parts, and more. (PA)
Other miscellaneous plastic used by Mr Webb in the year included insoles, paint tins, toothbrush parts, and more. (PA)
Some 93% of the plastic Mr Webb used in a year was single-use packaging. (PA)
Some 93% of the plastic Mr Webb used in a year was single-use packaging. (PA)

Some 93% of the plastic he used in a year was single-use packaging, and two thirds was used to package, wrap and consume food, the Everyday Plastic report by Mr Webb and researcher Dr Julie Schneider shows.

Some 70% was not currently recyclable, the report estimates.

Based on national collection rates of recyclable material, only 10% of the plastic he got through in a year would be recycled, with just 4% recycled at UK recycling facilities and the rest exported.

The remaining plastic waste would be sent to landfill or burned.

That’s a latte plastic: Coffee cup lids collected by Mr Webb. (PA)
That’s a latte plastic: Coffee cup lids collected by Mr Webb. (PA)
Mr Webb warned that plastic recycling in the UK was a ‘poorly funded system.’ (PA)
Mr Webb warned that plastic recycling in the UK was a ‘poorly funded system.’ (PA)
The items collected by Mr Webb were from plastic used in every room of his house. (PA)
The items collected by Mr Webb were from plastic used in every room of his house. (PA)

With Mr Webb’s plastic consumption close to average levels, the report says nationwide, the UK is likely to be throwing away 295 billion pieces of plastic every year.

Mr Webb, from Margate, Kent, raised concerns that plastic recycling in the UK was a ‘poorly funded system’ which needs significant investment and improvement.

He said: ‘We can’t just rely on recycling to fix plastic pollution.

Miscellaneous plastic saved by Mr Webb over 12 months. (PA)
Miscellaneous plastic saved by Mr Webb over 12 months. (PA)
Chocolate and sweet wrappers saved over a year by Mr Webb. (PA)
Chocolate and sweet wrappers saved over a year by Mr Webb. (PA)
Shocking: The eye-opening number of crisp packets used by Mr Webb in one year. (PA)
Shocking: The eye-opening number of crisp packets used by Mr Webb in one year. (PA)
Not all white: Mr Webb saved more than 50 plastic milk bottle tops in a year. (PA)
Not all white: Mr Webb saved more than 50 plastic milk bottle tops in a year. (PA)

‘Most importantly, we need to produce and use much less plastic.

‘Our fast-moving disposable society means that we are using more single-use things than ever, so we need to rethink how we consume.’

Dr Schneider added: ‘Plastic bottles can be properly recycled, but what about the plastic film that wraps our vegetables, pasta and sweets? All the plastic packaging stamped with the ‘not currently recycled’ logo?

Milk cartons collected by Mr Webb during his campaign. (PA)
Milk cartons collected by Mr Webb during his campaign. (PA)
Everyday plastic film which Mr Webb saved over 12 months. (PA)
Everyday plastic film which Mr Webb saved over 12 months. (PA)
Cold facts: Frozen vegetable plastic packaging collected by Mr Webb. (PA)
Cold facts: Frozen vegetable plastic packaging collected by Mr Webb. (PA)

‘It turns out that 70% of Daniel’s plastic waste is not currently recyclable. This is an issue that needs to be addressed urgently. ‘

Hugo Tagholm, chief executive at environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage, said ‘The Everyday Plastic report not only exposes the sheer diversity and volume of single-use plastic we all have to navigate daily, but as alarmingly, the inadequacy of current recycling systems, which only return a paltry amount of material back to shop shelves.

‘Reducing the use of pointless plastics is a priority – there is just too much plastic currently being made.’

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