UK househlders throw away 1.7 billion pieces of plastic every week Carhampton climate group was told at a recent meeting which posed the question: “Can we ever be plastic-free?”

Peter Hoyland from Plastic Free Exmoor informed the meeting that every piece of plastic ever produced is still with us unless incinerated - and incineration can release even more carbon dioxide than burning coal.

He said that plastic remaining in the environment breaks down into pieces small enough to be ingested by land and sea creatures, that ocean currents and storms transfer degrading plastics across vast distances of sea, and coastal erosion washes out decades-old plastics from the land.

Away from the beaches, everyday litter accumulates in hedgerows and verges.

The annual Big Plastic Count conducted by Greenpeace and Everyday Plastic has calculated from the data collected that UK households now throw away a total of about 1.7 billion pieces of plastic every week, mostly from food and drink packaging.

But Mr Hoyland said he had a message of hope.

He believed that the community could make a difference by avoiding new and single-use plastics, taking time for beach-cleans and litter-picks and using consumer power to buy loose food and plastic-free and recycled items.

Another speaker, Keith Hunt, multi-award-winning founder-manager of Our Precious Earth shop in Minehead, displayed alternative items ranging from glitter from eucalyptus leaves, bird feeders from wheat chaff, nut husks, straw - or coffee grounds.

There were also document wallets from lorry curtains, plastic-free sticking plasters, wash bags and washing-up bowls – with handles and a lip for pouring the used water onto your plants - and items made from cork, which continues to absorb carbon dioxide for ever, whatever its use.

Carhampton Climate Group’s slogan is Small Actions: Big Impact.

For more information, email [email protected].