In February, an episode of Richard Osman’s House of Games featured the following question: in the UK, how many plastic bottles does the average person use in a year? The show’s guests were stumped. “There are some people who might have three a day,” mused Josie Long. “But then I was thinking: children and nans, hardly any.” In the end, the answer was 150, a full 20 more than Long’s best guess. “Feels like that number will go down as the years go by,” intoned Osman.
It was a tiny moment, and the show quickly moved on. But it stuck with me. Every time I’ve hovered near the chiller cabinet at a shop since then, Osman’s voice has popped into my head. And, chided for my reliance on single-use plastic, I’ve walked away waterless.
