How you can join the fight against plastic pollution

Global usage - One week's worth of plastic waste, used and collected by Laura Barrado and her family, is displayed in Alpedrete, Spain. "We try to avoid certain purchases, mainly food, in plastic bags or plastic trays. We recycle as much as possible not only plastic but also paper or organic trash," she said.

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Avoid single-use items - Avoid using single-use plastic items like disposable cups, straws, and cutlery. Earlier this year, ministers announced that the UK is set to ban the sale of plastic straws and drinks stirrers.

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Use glass, metal, or ceramic versions - Use glass, metal, or ceramic items instead. Don't be afraid of carrying a reusable glass water bottle and your own metal cutlery.

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Global usage - One week's worth of plastic waste collected by the Wilbur family, in Wenham, Massachusetts, USA. "We try to reduce our footprint. We all use stainless steel water bottles and bring our own coffee mugs, etc. I try to avoid single use plastics such as straws, cups and bottles, but I'm not always successful," said Brandy Wilbur.

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Use a glass - Don't be tempted to buy bottled water. Buy a glass or metal bottle that you can reuse. This is also a great way to save money by drinking free tap water. If you prefer your water filtered, install a permanent filter on your tap or keep a filter jug in the fridge.

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Buy loose items or use a paper bag - While it can be challenging to avoid plastic packaging altogether, there are some easy changes we can make. Buying fruit and vegetables loose and carry them in a cloth bag. Opting for items in glass, tin, or paper packaging where possible and recycle the containers.

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Use a cloth shopping bag - Plastic bags frequently end up polluting our oceans and killing wildlife. Don't use plastic bags when you don't need to. Instead, get a set of canvas or tote bags in varying sizes, which you can use instead of plastic bags when shopping.

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Plastic - One week's worth of plastic waste used by the Shrestha family, in Kathmandu, Nepal. "We would use alternatives to plastic since it helps the environment but it is not possible since most of the products come either in plastic wrap or some other forms of plastic," Roshani Shrestha said, "We don't use single-use plastics like cups, plates, spoon or forks."

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Buy in bulk - If you have package-free or bulk shops in your local area, take advantage of them! You can bring your own containers to fill in-store and avoid packaging altogether. They can be much cheaper than small plastic packages of spices and grains.

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Global usage - One week's worth of plastic waste collected by the Downie family in Pitlochry, Scotland. "Even the plastic that is recycled will ultimately have an impact. Discarded plastic does not decompose and presents a serious and irreversible long-term threat to the health of our planet, and more immediately to animals which should enjoy pristine habitats," Karen Downie said. "Alternatives do already exist in many cases, but it seems are simply not widely offered because plastic offers cheap convenience. Manufacturers, retailers and governments need to do more to drive the necessary decline in use of plastic."

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Skip the takeaway - Buying ready-made meals wastes a ridiculous amount of plastic. Every time you eat one of these, the plastic containers and cutlery go straight into the rubbish.

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Prepare your own meals - Making meals at home is a great way to save money and avoid plastic. Pack them in reusable glass jars to take to work.

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Global impact - One week's worth of plastic waste used by the Sato family in Tokyo, Japan. Eri Sato commented, "In our family, we try to reduce our carbon footprint wherever we can. We're very conscious of the impacts our choices can have on the environment. First, we try to reduce consumption of plastics... When we have to consume, we try to keep it minimal. Recycling is generally the last option for us, and definitely not the first. Instead of the disposable plastic bottles, we've switched to reusable bottles. We've also gone to shampoo bars instead of bottled shampoo. Our toothbrush is made from bamboo and we use reusable shopping bags whenever we can."

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Choose a sustainable toothbrush - Did you know that plastic toothbrushes don't get recycled? Choose bamboo toothbrushes, which are compostable.

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Plastic - One week's worth of plastic waste, used and collected by Yaniv Ben-Dov and his family in Jaffa, Tel Aviv. "I think the most important aspect in this matter is to buy the minimum amount of stuff. I try but it’s hard, we live in a capitalist world. We buy a lot of second-hand stuff, but when you go to the mall or the supermarket, a lot of things are from plastic. Everything comes with plastic," said Yaniv.

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Forget fast fashion - How many of the clothes that we buy do we actually wear? There can be a lot of waste in the fashion industry.

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Shop vintage - Buy second-hand clothes or upcycle and swap with friends instead of buying new ones. If you do buy new, invest in quality that you know is going to last, and say no to the plastic bag!

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Plastic - One week's worth of plastic waste collected by the Joshi family in Mumbai, India. "We use bamboo toothbrushes instead of a plastic toothbrush; shampoo bars instead of shampoo and conditioner packed in plastic bottles; shop for vegetables and fruits from local markets rather than from supermarkets where even the veggies and fruits are packed in plastic film," said Mugdha Joshi.

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Go back to basics - Wearing less makeup and only buying what we really need can reduce plastic waste. The government has recently announced that it will ban wet wipes within 25 years, but get ahead of the trend and use a simple flannel to remove makeup or clean your baby.

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Keep it simple - Buying endless cleaning products is another way we waste plastic without realising. Make your own lotions, washing powders, and remedies with baking soda and vinegar. Alternatively, buy cleaning products from a bulk store and use reusable glass containers.

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Global usage - All of the non-recyclable or non-compostable plastic waste generated over five years by Lauren Singer Brooklyn, New York, USA. Singer is the founder and owner of Package Free Shop, which sells products with a mission to create a positive environmental impact with little to zero plastic waste. Singer wanted to align her lifestyle with her values of environmental sustainability, so embarked on a path to reduce her personal waste and as a result, all of the non-recyclable or non-compostable waste she generated over this period fits into a mason jar.

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China - China is the world’s biggest recycling industry. In 2017 alone it received 7.3 million tonnes of plastic waste from the EU, the UK, USA, and Japan, according to Reuters.

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British problem - This causes a huge problem for Britain, which sends two-thirds of its recycled plastic, equivalent to 500,000 tonnes, to China each year.

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Overflow - As The Telegraph reports, the UK just doesn’t have the facilities to deal with its own recycling.

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Options - So it’s likely that councils will have to start incinerating the majority of their waste, or burying it in landfill sites. But neither of these options is environmentally friendly.

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Incineration - The BBC reports that Greenpeace said that incinerating plastic waste is the wrong answer, as it releases toxic chemicals into the environment.

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Landfill - The Telegraph reports that burying plastic in landfills is not as safe as previously thought either, as toxins can leak into the soil.

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Pile up? - Regardless of the long-term solution, the Guardian reports that local councils are reducing waste collection across the country.

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