The Big Plastic Count

How much plastic do we use? Do you care enough to want to reduce how much plastic we throw away?

Are you as fed up as many of us are that almost everything we use or consume involves plastic? Whether it’s the food we consume with a plastic wrapper, the orders we place for clothes or whatever goods we buy on-line, plastic is usually involved, and in the take away we buy or order, plastic is somewhere in the supply chain.

We all do our bit to recycle – but plastic is still everywhere. The truth is, recycling alone can’t solve the problem when so much plastic is being made. The UK creates more plastic waste per person than almost any other country.

Plastic is part of the climate change problem. Almost all plastics are made from fossil fuels – coal, oil, or gas – and emit greenhouse gases at every single stage of their lifecycle. If we produce less plastic, we can reduce emissions because, whether we like it or not, the majority of UK plastic waste is burned in toxic incinerators.

So, from 9 to 15 March St Andrew’s is taking part in the Big Plastic Count and we hope YOU will take part!

It’s easy! There are two ways to do the count.

1.    You sign up as an individual or individual household here Sign up | The Big Plastic Count. You set aside EVERY piece of plastic for a week every wrapper, plastic bottle, lid, film lid, fruit and veg tray, pot, tube, ready meal container, snack bag, coffee pod, polystyrene cup, bread bag, cling film, toiletry packaging, toilet roll wrap, wet wipe pack, pet food pouch, bubble wrap – you name it and you set it aside. You down load the how-to guide and the counting sheet and document each piece of plastic you have collected, either every day or at the end of the week. Everyone can do this – grown-ups, children, any age, any household! Once you have completed your ‘Let’s Count’ sheet you submit your results and you will receive a score.

2.    You let St Andrew’s do the work! You put every single piece of plastic used during the week – see the list above - into a big (probably plastic!) carrier bag, even if you would normally recycle it or refill the empty bottle. On Sunday 15^th March you bring your filled bag to church, and we will do the sorting and counting for you. You won’t get an individual score but we will have an overall score for all those who take part.

Why does this matter to us as a church? Climate change is caused by us directly or indirectly. We are asked to care for God’s wonderful and beautiful Creation, but our actions are actually helping to destroy it. St Andrew’s has a new Environmental Policy and Action Plan which you can read here. Our principles and values are that:

·         God created the world and everything in it

·         Our church is committed to minimising our negative impact on the environment

·         Seeking climate justice is part of Christian discipleship and practice

The Policy encourages us to have a ‘sustainable lifestyle’ including ‘promoting and encouraging our church members to undertake personal auditing of individual and household carbon footprints’. We also have a responsibility to ‘community and global engagement’. Taking action, like The Big Plastic Count, is a means of loving our neighbour and caring for creation. This is an environmental issue which everyone can be engaged with. Most people in the poorest countries in the world do not contribute to the climate crisis. We do, as a rich ‘developed’ country. So, let’s get counting that PLASTIC! We will offer lots of ideas after the count on ways in which you can reduce your plastic waste.