A brand audit is a cleanup during which plastic waste is collected, counted, and sorted at a specific location. These initiatives reveal which kinds of plastic waste, from which companies, can be found at which locations, and in which quantities. Brand audits can be used wherever there is plastic waste: on beaches or riverbanks, in cities or in communities, in parks or woodlands, at school or in your home. The »Break Free From Plastic« global movement has been organizing annual brand audits involving people all over the world since 2018.
But brand audits can do more, because their figures enable us to clearly show who is really producing which quantities of plastic waste and thus contributing to the plastic crisis. They allow us to focus public attention on those companies that are actually responsible for the crisis. Increasing the data that is made public worldwide steps up the pressure on companies to find serious solutions instead of continuing to produce single-use plastic, which then becomes waste.
In the summer of 2020, around 15,000 volunteers – people from environmental organizations, communities, schools, youth groups, and many activists – participated in brand audits in 55 countries. They conducted a total of 575 brand audits and collected 346,494 plastic waste items. Almost two-thirds of these were food packaging: mainly coffee cup lids and sachets for ketchup or similar condiments. In addition to these 63,972 small bags, 50,968 plastic bottles were also collected.
Anyone can organize a brand audit. This brief guide shows how it can be done. Collect and sort the plastic waste in your area and help companies to realize that we will no longer accept this packaging madness.
* Some company names are not well-known; here we have used some everyday brand names as examples.
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GlossaryBreak Free From Plastic Activists