Consumers dump 1,071 plastic items a year

Consumers individually throw away as many as 1,071 different plastic items on average per year – a total of 21 items each week.

The figure across the country totals 55.5 billion, according to Opinium Research.

Plastic food packaging is the most commonly binned item, with consumers throwing an average of four of these items away per week each, followed by plastic drinks bottles and wet wipes, with individuals binning three of both of these items on a weekly basis.

James Endersby, managing director of Opinium said: “We no longer need to be convinced of the damage caused to the environment by plastics, but although most of the population use at least one alternative to plastic, there is clearly more work to be done by individuals.”