Families around the world join war on plastic - in pictures

To celebrate World Environment day, Reuters photographers met people from Athens to Singapore trying to play their part as the war on plastics becomes a key political topic

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 Program said in December.

While governments and retailers started clamping down on plastic bags through bans and small fees more than a decade ago, the focus has now increasingly turned to eradicating throwaway items such as straws and takeaway food and drink packaging.

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. These images show typical plastic use over one week.

Gaspar Antuna, Elena Vilabrille and their son Teo.

We try to buy less but better - as much secondhand as possible ... fabrics, clothes and objects

Mughda Joshi (right), along with her husband, Tanmay Joshi (left), son Kabir Joshi (centre), grandfather-in-law Manohar Joshi (second left) and mother-in-law Vandana Joshi (second right).

We shop for vegetables and fruits from local markets rather than from supermarkets where they are packed in plastic film

Roshani Shrestha (third left), 57, her husband, Indra Lal Shrestha (second left), 62, a retired businessman, elder son Ejan Shrestha (left), 29, and younger son Rojan Shrestha (right), 27.

I give back my plastic bags to the vegetable vendors so that they can reuse them rather than using a new one