Estimate your annual plastic use and its carbon footprint from weekly single-use items — ESTIMATES using stated average item weights and a production factor that varies by plastic type.
ESTIMATES: item weights are averages and the production factor varies by plastic type and energy source.
Annual plastic (kg)
How to use this tool
Count bottles, bags, cups and containers you actually use in a week — estimates are fine.
Weekly habits look small; multiplied by 52 they become kilograms a year.
The largest-group line shows where one swap, like a reusable bottle, helps most.
To plan cuts, use the Reduce Your Plastic tool to model percentage reductions.
Formula & worked example
Using 3 bottles, 5 bags, 2 cups and 4 containers a week gives about 11.70 kg of plastic a year and roughly 35.1 kg CO2e from production.
Limitations — read this before you rely on it
Item weights vary by product and brand, recycling and disposal emissions are not included, and the production factor differs by plastic type and energy source. Results are estimates for comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Bottle 20 g, bag 5 g, cup 10 g, container 30 g. Real items vary, so treat the total as an estimate.
No. This is production footprint for the plastic used. Recycling avoids some new production but the saving depends on local recycling rates.
Different plastics and energy sources give different production emissions, and published factors vary. The default 3 kg CO2e per kg is a mid-range production estimate.
This tool counts mass and production CO2 only. It does not estimate microplastic pollution, which depends on disposal and environment.
Target the largest group first — usually bottles or containers — with a reusable alternative used often enough to pay back its own footprint.