Concerns are rising about the effects of society’s reliance on plastics and its impact on our oceans. Here Henry Owen, Project Officer at The Community Action Group Project, explains what’s already happening and what you can do to stop plastic pollution

IT’S commonly said that we have a throw-away culture, and I’d have to agree.

For example, people in the UK throw away 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups every year, and almost none of these are recycled (only about 0.25 per cent).

But what most people haven’t considered is that there is no ‘away’.

Everything you throw ‘away’ end ups somewhere – especially plastic.

As a substance produced by humans, plastic can’t be digested by plants and animals and therefore builds up over time.

The same qualities that make plastic very useful (strength, flexibility and durability) also mean that it never really breaks down.

Recycling plastic is useful, but our priority should be to avoid producing it in the first place.

Thankfully, the recent splash caused by Blue Planet 2 has already sent ripples as far as Downing Street, spurring a national conversation about plastics.

The tide is turning on the scourge of plastic pollution, with everyone from Surfers Against Sewage, to the European Commission, to the Daily Mail agreeing we need change.

Local action and campaigning have been critical in starting this conversation and showing that we can easily cut out wasteful plastic use, preventing pollution of our parks, hedgerows, rivers, and seas.

Everyone has their part to play in tackling plastic pollution, and we’ll all share the benefits.

Oxford City Council is debating removing all using single-use plastics from its offices.

The supermarket Iceland has pledged to phase out all plastic packaging on its own-brand products in five years.

Impressive Oxford social enterprise SESI have been working for 12 years now to prevent plastic packaging waste, by offering refills on a huge range of foods as well as refills on liquid soaps, laundry detergent and shampoo.

To do this it has partnered with a range of different community groups, many of them part of the Community Action Group network (which I work to support).

SESI calculate it has saved well over 50,000 bottles from waste or wasteful industrial recycling.

Visiting SESI or your local market can be a refreshing reminder that food needn’t come with a plastic wrapper, and can taste great without unnecessary packaging.

Everyone can be part of stopping plastic pollution.

The easiest place to start is to stop using single-use plastics, which may be used for a matter of seconds or minutes before being discarded (with many not recycled).

These single-use plastics include items such as plastic cups, bottles, straws, disposable coffee cups, and plastic packaging.

Could you make a simple change like saying no to plastic straws in your drink, carrying a water bottle, or using your own personal reusable coffee cup?

Start by thinking about the easiest ways for you to use less plastic in your life and go from there.

Better still, work with the people around you to make a change.

Whether it’s at home, with colleagues at work, in your favourite shop or cafe, or with your sports team, why not start a conversation about how you can waste less plastic together?

If you’re looking for ideas for actions to take, loads are available online from blogs like The Rubbish Diet, charities like Friends of the Earth, and instagrammers like zerowastenerd and plasticfreetuesday.

If you’re inspired by the current swell of action on plastic there are some ways to get involved locally, such as with your local Community Action Group.

You can help shape waste strategy across the county by taking part in Oxfordshire County Council’s waste strategy consultation at recycleforoxfordshire.org.uk.

Plus Oxford Friends of the Earth are having an open meeting on tackling plastic pollution on 29 January see their Facebook group for details.