Plastic footprint calculator

How much single-use plastic do you get through in a year, and which one change would cut it most? Count a typical week; the calculator does the rest. Nothing you enter is stored.

How many of each do you use in a typical week? Leave anything you never use at 0.

Drinks

Bottled water or soft drink (500 ml PET) 12 g each

Large water bottle (1.5 L PET) 30 g each

Takeaway coffee cup with lid 4 g each

Plastic straw 0.4 g each

Shopping

Plastic carrier bag (HDPE) 8 g each

Thin produce bag 2 g each

Kitchen

Cling film (per metre) 3 g each

Takeaway container with lid 20 g each

Disposable cutlery set 8 g each

Single-serve yoghurt pot 8 g each

Coffee pod 3 g each

Bin liner 8 g each

Tea bag with plastic seal 0.2 g each

Bathroom

Plastic toothbrush (per brush) 18 g each

Shampoo or shower-gel bottle 30 g each

Disposable razor 10 g each

Wet wipe (plastic-fibre) 1 g each

Disposable period pad 4 g each

Nursery

Disposable nappy (plastic content) 12 g each

Weights are typical values with a source for each item. See the methodology.

How it works

Each item has a typical plastic weight per use with a published source (for example a 500 ml PET bottle at about 12 g from industry lightweighting data, or an HDPE carrier bag at 8.12 g from the UK Environment Agency’s life-cycle assessment). Weekly counts are multiplied by 52. The ‘biggest win’ is the item whose swap avoids the most grams. Weights are conservative; real products vary. Full method and sources →