Plastic bottle in woodland

Plastic pollution

Stop waste harming oceans and wildlife

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Plastic – what's the problem?

In the past 100 years humans have produced a lot of plastic. The benefits of plastic are that it's cheap and strong, light and extraordinarily versatile. So it's not surprising we're using mountains of the stuff. But the production of plastic contributes to climate change, and the waste harms the environment, polluting our waterways and threatening our wildlife. 

Here's where you can find the essential facts about plastic and the environment – and discover what you can do to help.

What is Friends of the Earth doing?

We're calling for urgent government action to stop the flow of plastic pollution into our environment. We've won some game-changing laws over the years, including doorstep recycling. Now it's time to get drastic on plastic.

We can all take small steps to avoid plastic. But for real impact, we need manufacturers and retailers to act. We want legislation to phase out non-essential, single-use plastics now. It's also essential that current and future governments commit to tackling pollution from hard-to-replace plastics like car tyres and clothes.

Please support our call for tough legislation. Together we can make a difference.

Sign our petition

Plastic facts

12 million
tonnes of plastic ends up in the sea each year.
Only 9%
of all plastic waste has ever been recycled.
700
or so marine species have been found entangled in plastic.
1 million
plastic bottles are bought worldwide every minute.
100,000
tiny bits of plastic could end up in the ocean with each shower you take, depending on the products you use.
9 billion
fewer plastic bags used in England since the 5p charge.

Polluting land and sea

Blue Planet II highlighted the tragedy of plastic pollution in our oceans. Up to 12m tonnes  of plastic ends up in the sea each year, including microplastics from cosmetics, bathroom products and tyres.

Sea creatures can get tangled in plastic or mistake it for food. The effects can be fatal. Harmful chemicals linked to plastic have been found in species from plankton to dolphins.

But it's not just marine life that suffers. Plastic waste ends up in our countryside and waterways, harming wildlife everywhere. Help call on the government to get drastic on plastic.

Help stop plastic pollution

How to avoid plastic

We can easily refuse plastic straws and carrier bags. And there are some nifty alternatives to plastic like getting your veg delivered fresh in a box (pictured).

But avoiding it can still be a real headache. Businesses need to reduce unnecessary plastic waste. The government needs to make this happen.

And we can make the government act.

Sign our petition now

What can I do about plastic?

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