Greenpeace and Everyday Plastic joined forces to create The Big Plastic Count,

the UK’s biggest investigation into household plastics, discovering what actually happens to our plastic consumption. The campaign was founded in collective action, hope, inclusivity, education, honesty and leadership.

Our brief was to create a big National moment in May 2022, empowering and galvanising as many people as possible to act through a Citizen Science approach. The campaign aimed to build real data around household plastic consumption to expose what really happens to our waste.

The objectives were threefold;

- create the UK’s biggest nationwide investigation into household plastics, building credible data revealing the truth about UK plastic waste;

- create a powerful media moment through coverage and mass mobilisation of ‘on brand’ influencers;

- expose the Government’s failure and duplicity, using pressure from the public and media to force them to take urgent action to tackle the crisis.

Fearlessness powered our approach, inspired by our client’s legacy and the fact

that we are an independent, purpose-driven agency, pitching against the best in the world. We had nothing to lose.

Creatively, our approach was to turn regular Britons into ‘Rainbow Warriors on Land’,

a big ask given the timing and need to make something unsexy into something fun and interesting. Championing diversity and positivity through our relatable characters, we were able to galvanise, unite and compel households up and down the country to become ‘Plastivists’.

Our visual approach, colour palette and characterful details led to an intentional lightness in tone - with the ‘results’ film revealing the findings onsite at a landfill to shockingly show the direct results of our consumption habits.

The emotional connection, invited people to become the hero of their story, empowering them to make a difference and be part of something bigger than themselves.

Why haven’t we seen drastic action when over 2 million tonnes of UK plastic is thrown away annually? Why doesn't the UK have a plastic depository return scheme like other European countries?

These questions led to the campaign strategy to:

Get - as many diverse households up and down the UK,

Who - want to know what happens to their household plastic waste,

To - take collective action in the largest investigation into household plastic waste,

By - using creative communications to inspire a moment people wanted to be a part of. Creating real, granular data which could be used to lobby the government, producers and supermarkets to tackle the plastic crisis.

Creative lighthearted films, influencers, press and a seamless signup and upload experience united the Nation with household, MP and school participation.

The petition results were taken to DEFRA by school children who took part for maximum exposure.

Getting people to understand the importance of the campaign was one thing, but asking them to take part was another. Using mixed media, direct mail

and an online portal to aid the citizen science campaign, we launched with a website and films to inspire signups.

Households received a tally sheet through direct mail and a ‘How To Count’ film, which included Gogglebox’s Craig Cash as a voiceover for broader appeal.

Sustainability and inclusivity was a big focus in the film production. We worked with an inclusive talent agent and accessible shoot locations, and created our own plastic policy which monitored consumption. The shoot and direct mail was carbon negative too, thanks to the Adgreen carbon calculator.

The results were released through an impact report and ‘results’ film, with a petition delivered to parliament by school children to highlight the impact of our consumption and disposal system on the next generation.