They have been brought disruption to London for days while campaigning for more to be done to protect the environment from climate change.
But protesters from Extinction Rebellion appear to be less bothered about plastic waste after being spotted surrounded by bottles and coffee cups in central London.
Plastic carrier bags and disposable coffee cups from chain shops are dotted around their bags and blankets in Oxford Circus as well as separate demonstrations in Marble Arch and outside Jeremy Corbyn's house in Islington.
Single-use plastic has become a huge environmental concern with around 104million tonnes dumped in the natural world every year.
It mainly ends up in oceans, posing a serious threat to wildlife, while less than 20 per cent is believed to be recycled annually.
Activists from Extinction Rebellion have been spotted using single-use plastics such as water bottles, ringed, at their protest sites. Pictured are campaigners at Oxford Circus
Disposable coffee cups have also been dotted around the Oxford Circus site, pictured, which are very difficult to recycle and are dumped in landfills every year
Among their blankets and bags, water bottles and plastic bags can be seen in large numbers, pictured here at the Oxford Circus site by their boat
Experts say just 20 per cent of plastic is being collected for recycling worldwide, while more than half is burned or sent to landfill, raising questions about what the Extinction Rebellion campaigners are doing with their left over bottles and bags.
A spokesman for Extinction Rebellion said: 'The Climate and Ecological Crisis is the biggest problem-solving issue humanity has ever faced, no one individual can fix this alone.
'We have to come together to respond, and as a species decide how we want to live on this planet.
'There have been some people using single-use plastics at the sites - they’re a big problem, avoiding them is tough.
'We need radical change to provide the infrastructure for people to make sustainable choices.
'This is what the Rebellion’s about - young and old, working together to find solutions.
'Mostly though people have been great at avoiding making rubbish, and when they do, recycling it.
'In fact, we’ve heard from the council cleaner at Marble Arch that he’s only having to collect one bag of rubbish a day, rather than the usual four.'
Charity WWF International says more than 270 animal species have been entangled in plastic debris, which is how at least 1,000 marine turtles die each year.
More than 240 animal species have been found to swallow plastic, which can kill everything from sea birds to whales by blocking their guts so that they die of starvation.
Every minute, more than nine million tons of plastic enter the ocean - the equivalent of 1.4 million half-litre plastic bottles. Potentially four times that amount ends up on the land.
The protest, which is now in its fifth day, has already brought several parts of London to a standstill by blocking four major routes of Waterloo Bridge, Oxford Circus, Marble Arch and Parliament Square.
Meanwhile single use plastics have also been spotted at other protest sites including Parliament Square, pictured. Extinction Rebellion has yet to comment
More plastic bottles could be seen with protesters marching from Marble Arch, pictured, to Piccadilly Circus earlier this week
Even the protesters who glued themselves to Jeremy Corbyn's home in Islington, pictured, brought single use plastic water bottles with them
Today Oscar-winning actress and writer Dame Emma Thompson joined the protests in Oxford Circus and stood atop a pink boat to encourage the activists to continue their efforts.
The Love Actually star added: 'We have seriously failed them and our planet is in serious trouble, we have much, much less time than we thought.
'I have seen the evidence for myself and I really care about my children and grandchildren enough to want to be here today to stand with the next generation.'
Dame Emma, whose flight from Los Angeles to London this week generated at least 1.67 tonnes of CO2, said she had wanted to join the protests sooner but it had been her 60th birthday on Monday.
More than 570 protesters have now been arrested as activists continue to ignore orders to leave roadblocks around London.
Protesters left single use plastic bags beneath their banner calling for more use of wind energy over gas and fossil fuels
More single use plastic bottles are pictured here among protesters lying down in Oxford Circus
The action also moved to London Heathrow today, although there was no disruption to flights, with about 15 young people unfurling a banner on the pavement outside the transport hub reading: 'Are we the last generation?'.
Officers told the protesters they were breaking a bylaw by protesting on airport property, and so arrests are expected.
One well-spoken boy told Sky News while fighting back tears: 'I don't want to be the last generation. I've told you I'm here out of love and out of fear and from that comes courage, and that's why I'm here, that's why I'm here.'
Another girl said: 'It's about the message that we're trying to send, and that is that we are very possibly the last generation and that our futures have been stolen, the lives we thought we would be able to lead have been taken.'
Home Secretary Sajid Javid has urged police to use 'the full force of the law' against Extinction Rebellion protesters.
