How well do you know your single-use plastics?

Although to us eco-worriers it should be renamed Single-use plastic free forever!

As the kids break up from school and we dream of lazy days of picnics in the park and snacky summery food, it’s important we all do our bit to cut down on the amount of single-use plastic we use, not only in our everyday lives, but in the holidays.

I won’t alarm you with stats as we all know the perils of single-use plastic; we’ve all seen the pics of marine life choked with microplastic particles; we all know we are are in a climate and ecological crisis.

Debbie Bourne asks that people cut down on their single-use plastics (Image: Debbie Bourne)

Below, to help inspire you to do your bit to cut back on SUP, it’s quiz time, dear reader:

1. What percentage of all plastic produced is recycled?

a. 9%

b. 18%

c. 24%

2. How many plastic bags are used each minute globally?

a. 1 million

b. 2 million

c. 3 million

3. How often is the equivalent of a truck load of plastic dumped into the ocean?

a. Every minute of every day

b. Every hour of every day

c. Once a day

4. What percentage of coffee cups are recycled in the UK?

a. 0.25%

b. 2.5%

c. 5%

5. True or False. In the last 10 years, we have produced more plastic products than in the whole of the last century.

6. True or False. 80% of all toys produced end up in landfills, incinerators or the ocean

7. What percentage of plastic is used only once before being thrown away?

a. 20%

b. 50%

c. 60%

8. On average, how long is a plastic bag used by a person before being thrown away?

a. 12 minutes

b. One hour

c. One day

9. How many plastic bottles of water are purchased globally every minute ?

a. 100,000

b. 500,000

c. 1 million

10. How many marine species are harmed by plastic pollution?

a. 52

b. 693

c. 1,326

Answers:

1. a. 9%

2. a. 1 million

3. a. Every minute of the day

4. a. 0.25%

5. True

6. True

7. b. 50%

8. a. 12 minutes

9. c. 1 million

10. b. 693

So, how did you do? Were you alarmed by the answers? What actions are you going to take?

That luxurious picnic hamper, that I, self-professed High-Heeled Gardener was going to buy, is filled with plastic wrapped goodies... Time to think again! Grrrr!

• Debbie Bourne is an Think&DoCamden activator and author of The High-Heeled Gardener.