My week without plastic: 'I found a toothbrush made of pig hair'

We produce 300m tonnes of plastic a year - 5m tonnes of which ends up in the oceans. How easy is it to ditch the excess packaging and learn to love shampoo in solid bars?

It's in shampoo bottles, toothbrushes, clothes and biros. It's even in teabags. Plastic is everywhere.

In some cases this brings clear benefits - plastic has brought advances including domestic pipes, composite materials for lighter aircraft and wind-turbines, as well as blood bags - but, for consumers, it is largely cosmetic: a cheap signifier of hygiene and a mainstay of convenience.