Plastics research and analysis
In-depth reports, briefings, investigations and analysis on plastic pollution from Greenpeace experts.
Unilever’s greenwashing and vulnerability to brand damage: briefing for investors
Unilever has positioned itself as a responsible business with strong sustainability credentials. However, its continued inaction on plastic pollution makes it uniquely vulnerable to accusations of greenwashing and hypocrisy. With both Greenpeace and the CMA targeting the company over its environmental performance claims, the risks to shareholder value are growing.
Uncovered: Unilever’s complicity in the plastics crisis and its power to solve it
This report exposes the gap between what Unilever says it will do, and what it actually does.
The Big Plastic Count Results: How citizen science exposed a system incapable of tackling the plastic crisis
This report reveals the results of The Big Plastic Count. Almost a quarter of a million participants threw away 6.4 million pieces of packaging waste in just one week, yet only 12% is likely recycled. It provided overwhelming proof that the UK’s waste system cannot cope with the enormous amount of waste generated.
Game of Waste
This report details the chemical contamination that scientists found in five different dumpsites across southern Turkey. It identified a wide range of toxic chemicals in the ash and soil of all five sites, many of which are associated with plastic packaging or the burning of plastics. It was prepared by Greenpeace Mediterranean.
Trashed: how the UK is still dumping plastic waste on the rest of the world
The UK is a major contributor to the world’s plastic crisis, generating more plastic waste per person than any other country except the USA. Our recycling system is already overwhelmed by plastic waste. Now our waste is overwhelming other countries’ recycling systems too, causing serious harm to their citizens and environment, particularly in India, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Checking out on plastics III
A survey of supermarkets' progress in reducing plastic waste
Unpacked: how supermarkets can cut plastic packaging in half by 2025
Despite scientific evidence and mounting public pressure, UK supermarkets are putting more plastic on their shelves than ever. This report outlines how supermarkets can achieve a minimum 50% reduction in single-use plastic packaging, purely via reduction and reuse.
Manifesto for a green recovery
Upstream: microplastics in UK rivers
The UK’s River Mersey contains proportionally more plastic pollution than the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area recognised by scientists as one of the most plastic-polluted expanses of water on earth