Christians across the UK are being encouraged to do their bit within the war against plastic waste by participating in a nationwide count.
The Big Plastic Count will see hundreds of individuals across the country count up all of the pieces of plastic they throw away between 11 and 17 March.
The campaign is a partnership between Christian development agency Tearfund and charities EveryDay Plastic and Greenpeace UK.
They want to collect evidence about plastic waste before major UN talks happening in Ottawa, Canada, from 23 to 29 April.
Tearfund has called the talks a “once-in-a-generation probability to alter our relationship with plastic”.
Over 40,000 people, including hundreds of college children, have already signed up to participate within the Big Plastic Count and Tearfund is asking Christians to get entangled too.
The charity’s senior economist Rich Gower said, “Every thirty seconds someone dies from disease linked to plastic pollution and rubbish. For people living in poverty, there is no such thing as a time to waste.
“The Big Plastic Count is an ideal opportunity for hundreds of us within the UK to come back together and show we wish this plastics crisis solved.
“It’s a strong reminder to the Government that individuals across the UK and worldwide are getting on with tackling plastic pollution. We need global politicians to agree on a robust Global Plastics Treaty this yr.”
The last Big Plastic Count uncovered that just 12 per cent of the UK’s plastic packaging is recycled, despite households throwing away nearly two billion pieces each week. The rest is burned, shipped abroad or sent to landfill.
Most of the plastic waste recorded through the Big Count (83%) was from foods and drinks packaging, probably the most common being for fruit and vegetables.
“Plastic is throughout us, unimaginable to avoid,” said Gower.
“That’s why we’d like to count together – to indicate world leaders and massive businesses that we care and wish alternatives to be much easier to seek out. Your evidence will help create the much-needed pressure calling for ambitious motion at the worldwide treaty talks, and help make a future that is freed from plastic waste.
“We know plastic pollution is having a huge effect on our neighbours world wide, so taking motion may be a part of loving our neighbours. But also of loving God – who asks us to handle his beautiful creation.”
