Each year the average UK household uses 480 plastic bottles, but only recycles 270 of them, leaving 16 million unrecycled per year, new research has claimed.
The study by Recycle Now, which is managed by Wrap, has found that the number of plastic bottles evading recycling could reach 29 billion over the four years up to the end of 2020.
If a year's worth of the UK's unrecycled plastic bottles were placed end to end, they would reach around the world 31 times, covering more than 780,000 miles.
Alice Harlock, from Recycle Now said: “The number of plastic bottles not being recycled is staggering and will increase further if we don't take action.
"Householders are often unsure if items are recyclable especially from the bathroom, bedroom and living room. An easy way to tell is, if an item is plastic and bottle shaped its recyclable.
“We need to challenge ourselves when it comes to what we could be recycling. Every plastic bottle counts. We're asking people to think more about what they can recycle every time they go to put something in the waste bin.
"If you're having a shower and using up the last of the shampoo – don't just think replace, think recycle.”