Faced with shops full of food and other goods swathed in plastic, families across the world are trying to reduce its use and recycle wherever possible to cut down its impact on the environment.
Eight million tonnes of plastic - bottles, packaging and other waste - are dumped into the ocean every year, killing marine life and entering the human food chain, the United Nations Environment Programme said in December.
Photographers met people from Athens to Singapore trying to play their part as the war on plastics becomes a hot political topic and governments work to outlaw single-use items such as drinking straws and cotton buds.
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A combination photo shows Natalia Lyritsis, (L), 5, Alexandra Patrikiou, (2nd L), 39, Alice Lyritsis, (2nd R), 3, and Vassilis Lyritsis, (R), 46 (top) and one week's worth of plastic waste they have collected, in Athens, Greece, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
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A combination photo shows Eri Sato (R) with her husband Tatsuya and three-month-old daughter Sara (top) and one week's worth of plastic waste they have collected, in Yokohama, Japan, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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A combination photo shows Lauren Singer, 27, a former environmental studies major (top) and five year's worth of the non-recyclable or non-compostable plastic waste she has generated in Brooklyn, New York, U.S, May 30, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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A combination photo shows Laura Barrado with her family (top) and one week's worth of plastic waste they have collected, in Alpedrete, near Madrid, Spain, May 29, 2018. REUTERS/Sergio Perez
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A combination photo shows the Downie family (top) and one week's worth of plastic waste they have collected, in Pitlochry, Scotland, Britain, May 27, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
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A combination photo shows Alexander Raduenz (2nd L) along with his partner Berit and his children Zoe and Yuna (top) and one week's worth of plastic waste they have collected, in Berlin, Germany, May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
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A combination photo shows Tatiana Schnittke, (L), 39, Yaniv Ben-Dov, 44, and their son Jonathan, 2, (top) and one week's worth of plastic waste they have collected, in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Israel, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Corinna Kern
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A combination photo shows Roshani Shrestha (2nd R), 57, her husband, Indra Lal Shrestha (2nd L), 62, elder son Ejan Shrestha (L), 29, and younger son Rojan Shrestha (R), 27 (top) and one week's worth of plastic waste they have collected, in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar
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A combination photo shows Audrey Gan (C), 31, her husband Leow Yee Shiang, 30, and their three-year-old son Kyler (top) and one week's worth of plastic waste they have collected, in Singapore, May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Feline Lim
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A combination photo shows Gaspar Antuna (L), Elena Vilabrille and their son Teo (top) and one week's worth of plastic waste they have collected, in Madrid, Spain, May 30, 2018. REUTERS/Paul Hanna
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A combination photo shows Brandy Wilbur (2nd L), 44, Anthony Wilbur (R), 45, with their children Sophie (L), 12, and Andrew (2nd R), aged nine (top) and one week's worth of plastic waste they have collected, in Wenham, Massachusetts, U.S., May 27, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
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A combination photo shows Mughda Joshi (R), along with her husband Tanmay Joshi (L), son Kabir Joshi (C), grandfather-in-law Manohar Joshi (2nd L) and mother-in-law Vandana Joshi (2nd R) (top) and one week's worth of plastic waste they have collected, in Mumbai, India, May 26, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
