Did you know the UK generates 125,000 tonnes of plastic packaging during the festive period? The equivalent of 650,000 reindeer! It’s a staggering reminder of the hidden cost of Christmas cheer but this year, you can make a real difference. 

According to The Big Plastic Count’s statistics, the average plastic consumption per person, per annum, is 98kgs, with an average family of 4 generating approximately 390kgs- 30% of which is generated at Christmas. Whilst we celebrate and unwrap gifts, another story unfolds—one of immense waste and pollution. Based on this research, we've developed a few options for those responsible individuals and families wishing to offset their Christmas plastic consumption for the month of December.

Think of plastic credits as your personal pledge to a cleaner planet. For every credit you buy, the equivalent amount of plastic is removed from the environment, helping to clean up our oceans, rivers, and coastlines.

I'm Going Plastic Neutral This Christmas – Just £17.94Make My Family Plastic Neutral This Christmas – From £53.82

The Gift of a Cleaner Planet

Looking for the perfect gift this Christmas? Plastic credits are a meaningful, sustainable option for friends and family who care about the planet. What better way to show you care than by giving the gift of cleaner seas and a brighter future?

Combating Festive Waste: Our New Year's Resolution

Christmas waste doesn’t stop at packaging. The festive season contributes to shocking amounts of plastic waste: 

Toy Disposal

Millions of toys are discarded annually as families make room for new ones, much of which ends up in landfills. 

Food Packaging

UK households purchase 19,183 tonnes of turkey each Christmas, wrapped in 3,000 tonnes of plastic packaging. 

Non-Recyclable Polystyrene

Pigs in blankets alone contribute nearly 150 tonnes of non-recyclable polystyrene packaging. 

and Wrapping Paper

Over 227,000 miles of wrapping paper—often non-recyclable—are thrown away each year. By offsetting your plastic use, you can counteract these festive excesses and contribute to a cleaner, healthier future for our planet. 

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FAQs

What Are Plastic Credits?

Our plastic credits work similarly to carbon offsets but specifically target plastic waste reduction. Individuals and businesses can actively contribute to cleaning the marine environment by earning and trading these credits. The plastic credits are certificates representing the collection in kilograms of plastic waste that would otherwise have polluted our natural environment.

These credits are measurable, traceable, and verifiable.

How Do They Work?

Our initiative focuses on recycling plastic waste that would otherwise remain in the environment. We refer to this concept as ‘additionality’, where only waste that would naturally end up in the environment without any intervention is considered. As a result of our efforts, we generate a certified plastic credit for each additional kilogram of plastic we recycle.

Who Benefits?

Businesses and individuals can offset their plastic usage by purchasing plastic credits — for every unit of plastic consumed, an equivalent amount is recycled. The funds generated from these credits support essential infrastructure and contribute to cleaning up existing plastic waste. Even though you can’t eliminate plastic (it’s everywhere!), you can offset its impact through plastic credits.

How are Odyssey Innovation’s Plastic Credits generated?

Our Plastic Credits are unique in that they exclusively target plastic that would otherwise remain unrecycled- every penny goes towards empowering communities to recycle marine plastic waste by building and developing essential infrastructure.

Our recycling initiatives (NRS, MRS & P4P) work closely with beach clean groups, businesses, and fishing communities. We collaborate with over 20 NGOs, charities, and over 40 fishing communities to combat marine plastic pollution; last year alone, we collected, processed, and recycled 500,000 kilos of marine plastic through our Net and Marine Regeneration Scheme.

However, there’s still much more work to be done.

Our groundbreaking Plastic Credit program provides a simple and transparent way to get involved in the battle against plastic while safeguarding our precious marine ecosystems. By doing so, we can make our world a better place to live in now and in the future.

How does purchasing these Credits make the Industry greener?

Virgin plastic is significantly cheaper than its recycled counterpart, whose material has undergone significant processing and reprocessing before reaching the market; this often demotivates the industry to use it, particularly in mass-produced items where profit margins are already slim.

Increased recycling rates mean improved competitiveness for the circular economy and the recycled plastics market. This changes societal perceptions and definitions about waste and enables Industry to become greener thanks to lower material costs.

Plastic Neutral Christmas