HOW MUCH WASTE WILL YOU PRODUCE THIS YEAR? TAKE OUR QUIZ

IN YOUR KITCHEN

HOW many new plastic bags do you pull off a roll to use every week? (Include sandwich bags, freezer bags, pedal bin bags, dustbin liners and so on.) A) None, I usually re-use old bags B) About five C) About ten D) About 15 DO YOU have a pod coffee maker? If so, how many cups do you make a day? A) None B) Just one C) Two to three D) Five-plus HOW often do you use cling film? A) Never B) Once a week C) Once a day D) Two or three times a day HOW many plastic bottles of cleaning materials do you have under the kitchen sink? (Include washing-up liquid, floor cleaner, laundry detergent, fabric conditioner, stain remover, bleach etc.) A) None B) Fewer than five C) Five to ten D) More than ten HOW many plastic food/drink containers find their way into your bin each week? (Include milk, squash, fizzy drinks, ketchup, mayonnaise, water, juice etc.) A) None B) Up to five C) Five to ten D) Ten to 15 DO YOU use other small plastics such as pegs, stock pods, scourers, washingup brushes and individually wrapped dishwasher tablets? A) No B) Occasionally C) Regularly D) A lot KITCHEN SCORE: mostly A: Well done, that’s amazing. mostly b: not bad, but you accumulate enough unnecessary waste plastic to fill three large bath tubs a year. mostly C: Your excess plastic would fill a small car in a year. mostly d: You are a heavy plastic user and your unnecessary trash would fill a large Transit van in a year.

OUT AND ABOUT

HOW often do you drink through a plastic straw? A) Never — I’m not a toddler B) Occasionally, perhaps once a month C) Every week D) Every day

HOW often do you buy a drink in a plastic bottle?

A) Never B) Roughly once a week C) Pretty much every day D) More than once a day

DO YOU regularly buy takeaway coffee or tea?

A) No — or if I do, I take my own cup B) Maybe once a week C) Every morning D) Two or three times a day

HOW often do you buy takeaway sandwiches or salad in a plastic shell?

A) Never B) Maybe once a week C) Every day D) More than once a day

DO YOU use plastic cutlery/stir sticks?

A) No B) Very occasionally C) Perhaps once a week D) Pretty much every day HOW often do you order a takeaway, which is then delivered in plastic tubs? A) Never B) Less than once a month C) Once a week D) Four to five times a week OUT AND ABOUT SCORE: mostly A: Congratulations, you are doing your bit to save the world. mostly b: That’s enough plastic to overflow your bath in a year. mostly C: You gather enough waste plastic to fill a car in a year. mostly d: Your takeaway plastic trash would fill a mini skip in a year.

IN THE BATHROOM

HOW many pieces of plastic are involved in your teeth-washing ritual?

(Include toothpaste, floss/dental sticks, mouthwash and brush.)

A) None B) Two (brush and toothpaste) C) Three (add floss) D) Four to five (add mouthwash and dental sticks)

HOW many plastic bottles do you take in the shower? (Include shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, shaving foam, exfoliator, cleanser etc.)

A) None B) One C) Two to three D) Four IS THERE a liquid soap dispenser at every sink in your home? If so, how many are there? A) No, I use solid soap B) Yes, one C) Yes, two to three D) Yes, four to five

DO YOU use a disposable razor? If so, how often do you replace it?

A) No, I don’t use one B) Use occasionally C) Use a new one each week D) Use a new razor every day

HOW many different plastic bottles of bathroom/lavatory/shower cleaner do you regularly use?

A) None B) One C) Two D) Three

IF YOU use make-up, how many plastic items are in your regular-use make-up bag?

A) None B) Up to Five C) Five to seven D) Seven to ten How many plastic bottles/tubes are incorporated into your night-time ablutions? (Include moisturisers, serums, eye creams etc.) A) None B) One or two C) Three or four D) Five or more DO YOU use cotton buds? If so, how many? A) No B) Yes, but mine have cardboard stems C) Up to four per week D) One to two per day

BATHROOM SCORE:

mostly A: Oh, you’re good! mostly b: That’s enough to fill a large kitchen pedal bin in a year. mostly C: You’d easily fill a big bin bag until it was fit to burst in a year. mostly d: You’re accumulating enough plastic to fill a wheelie bin in a year.

AT THE SHOPS

HOW many new plastic bags — from disposable carrier bags to bags to put fruit and veg in — do you use for each weekly grocery shop? A) None — I take reusable bags B) About five bags C) Ten bags D) More than ten bags HOW many rigid plastic trays come home with you as part of your grocery shopping each week? (Include the plastic tray beneath cuts of meat or fruit and veg, plus plastic cartons for yoghurt, hummus and coleslaw etc.) A) Fewer than five B) Five to ten C) Ten to 15 D) 15-20 HOW many pieces of flimsy plastic food wrapping do you accumulate each week? (Include fruit and veg wrapping, bread wrapping, frozen food bags etc.) A) None B) Up to ten C) Ten to 20 D) 30 plus HOW often do you receive an online purchase swathed in bubble wrap or plastic padding? A) Never B) Once a month C) Once a week D) Two to three times a week

SHOPPING SCORE:

mostly A: Hats off! You’ve clearly been avoiding plastic for some time. mostly b: That’s enough plastic to overflow four bath tubs in a year. mostly C: You’d fill more than three large shopping trolleys with empty bottles and bags in a year. mostly d: You’d fill your entire car with plastic twice over in a year.