Proactive change on plastic pollution

The fight against single-use plastics has been ongoing for over a decade. From the enormous impact of Blue Planet to current worrying research on the health impacts of microplastics, the topic is almost as ubiquitous as plastic itself. Yet discussions and media interest have not yet yielded significant progress. In fact, plastic production is set to triple by 2060.

KinKind

For individual consumers, decreasing plastic usage beyond a certain point creates a huge challenge. How can you reduce plastic when almost everything available in shops is packaged in it? The answer lies not only with end users but also with those creating and selling the products themselves.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Carbon Copy Podcast, titled Use Less Plastic, Victoria Coe, founder of plastic-free beauty brand KinKind said:

“Businesses can and should do a lot more to not put the onus on consumers. We just need to make these products available and communicate to consumers that these options are there and that they really do deliver… It’s an absolute no brainer and win-win for everybody.”

Everyday Plastic

The organisation behind the Big Plastic Count, Everyday Plastic leads the biennial UK-wide investigation into domestic plastic waste. In 2024, the count revealed that 1.7 billion pieces of plastic were being thrown away by households every week. CEO and Founder, Daniel Webb, adds:

“There are some really important things happening on a global policy level to try to tackle the plastics crisis. The fifth and final session on the UN Global Plastics Treaty is set for early August, which will create binding targets for countries to tackle plastic waste. However, as with many international treaties, implementation can be slow – and there are huge opportunities for business leaders here in the UK to get ahead of the curve.

When you go to the supermarket currently, it’s incredibly difficult to buy food, especially fruit and veg, without plastic packaging. If you can buy things loose, it’s sometimes not clear how they will be priced, and this makes customers nervous and less likely to change their purchasing habits. Retailers, including the ‘big six’ supermarkets, need to recognise that change is coming, whether mandated by policy or driven by consumer demand, and being a frontrunner in embracing that shift can only be a positive thing for their businesses.”

City to Sea

Natalie Fée, founder of charity City to Sea also spoke on the pod. The organisation has led some of the UK’s most high-profile plastic campaigns, including Plastic-free Periods, the Refill campaign and in 2016, a campaign called Switch the Stick, which saw plastic-based cotton buds being banned from all major retailers. Natalie explained more:

“Switch the Stick stopped around 4 billion items of single-use plastic, that couldn’t be recycled, from being produced each year. The campaign really gave us a taste for how we can influence change if can get retailers to change their product lines. It’s all very well asking consumers to buy the plastic-free option, but if the option isn’t there or if it is prohibitively expensive or more difficult to use, it’s never going to happen. We know there is a great appetite for change, we uncovered some excellent stories at the Global Reuse Summit earlier this year for example; we just need the big players even more involved to keep momentum going.”

Proactive change

Like many of the actions Carbon Copy is showcasing this year, tackling plastic waste is a collective endeavour where real change precedes policy change, and often goes further than what’s required legally. We need proactive change at all levels – from consumers and communities using their purchasing power on alternative options, to businesses and retailers actively reducing packaging and supply chain waste, to governments writing changes into law.

There are brilliant plastic-reduction initiatives around the UK, so if this is an issue that you feel passionately about, there’s action you can copy in your workplace or your community. Take a look at our campaign resources on Carbon Copy or explore other initiatives happening locally in the growing UK circular economy.