British households throw away some 1.7B pieces of plastic every week: Report

ATHENS

Households in Britain throw away some 1.7 billion pieces of plastic every week, according to a new report by the UK’s Big Plastic Count initiative.

According to the report, only 17% of the country’s plastic waste is recycled while 58% is incinerated, 14% exported, and 11% landfilled.

Stressing that incineration releases toxic gases that pollute the air and worsen climate change, the report said that this state of affairs doesn’t match the government’s own commitment to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“What's worse, 18 new incinerators are being built in the UK – from Glasgow to the Isle of Wight,” it said.

It added that the country’s recycling systems can’t cope with the sheer amount of plastic waste.

It warned: “What’s more, the recycling process releases microplastics into our air and water – worsening the very issue it’s designed to solve.”

Against this background, the companies and government should take action to cut plastic production at least 75% by 2040, it urged.