What are we doing?
- Return your plastic bags to the food bank and receive an extra item.
- Reduce plastic waste to keep the food bank clean, green and sustainable.
Why are we doing this?
- UK produced 2.26 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2023 (this is the most up-to-date figure). The estimate for 2024 is 2.15–2.27 million tonnes 1.
- An estimated 1.7 billion pieces of plastic packaging are thrown away in the UK per week 2.
- Plastic is a major pollutant of rivers, farmland and the ocean 3.
- Some figures: 11 million tonnes of plastic is dumped in the ocean every year; 100,000 marine mammals and 1 million seabirds are killed by plastic pollution every year; some estimates suggest more plastic than fish by 2025 4.
- Plastic waste is exported to developing countries at an alarming rate, despite partial bans 5.
- 11% of all plastic packaging is intended for export 6.
- UK exported 600,000 tonnes in 2023, 26% to non-OECD countries 7.
- Exports to non-OECD countries increased by 84% in 2025 8.
- Bangladesh is a hotspot of global plastic waste exports 9.
- Around 1.2 million tonnes exported (2017–2019) 10.
- Includes 110 tonnes shipped in 2018 11.
- Plastic pollution is impacting regions like Sylhet 12.
- Sylhet City generated 19,000 tonnes of plastic waste in 2021 13.
- The Surma River is especially polluted 14.
References
- UK statistics on waste
- Big Plastic Count
- Commons Research Library
- Surfers Against Sewage
- EU Waste Shipment Regulations
- HMRC PPT
- Guardian
- Guardian
- ESDO Bangladesh reports
- Channel i (Bangla reports)
- Observer BD
- ESDO Sylhet report
- Daily Ittifaq
- Channel i Surma River report
