Plastic Free July

July begins on Saturday, which means it’s almost time to challenge yourself to stop using plastic! The Plastic Free July campaign began in 2011, born from an idea of the Western Metropolitan Regional Council in Perth to refuse single-use plastic throughout the month of July.

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What is Single Use Plastic?

The clue is in the name really, Single Use Plastic is any type of plastic product that you can only use one and then throw away. The most commonly used are straws, carrier bags, water/drinks bottles, food packaging, plastic cutlery, coffee cup lids – and even more!

What’s bad about it?

Plastic can take hundreds of years to degrade, leaving huge piles of rubbish in landfills long after we’re gone. Even when you do throw away these plastic items, they can ‘escape’ from bins and trucks, creating accidental litter or ending up in our water systems and the ocean.

What can you do?

Pretty much every kind of single use plastic can be replaced by a reusable alternative. We have plenty of reusable water bottles, even those that filter water as you drink. Plastic free washing up pads from LoofCo. You can also buy reusable bags for your shopping that aren’t made of plastic and keep them in your car for those impromtu shopping trips. Take your reusable travel coffee cup to your local cafe every time you want a coffee on the go. The use of bottled shower gels has rocketed in the last 20 years so why not try using a good old fashion bar of soap? You can even ditch the plastic shampoo bottle and replace with a shampoo bar. See our products that will help you minimise plastic here.

It’s also important to refuse plastics like straws, takeaway cups, utensils and balloons. It’s much easier to do this if you pop a reusable alternative to these in your bag (not sure about the balloons though…).

Of course in today’s society it’s not always possible for every individual to reduce the amount of single use plastic they use, and that’s alright. In cases where it is not possible for you, opt to use recyclable plastic and make sure you recycle it, or ensure the plastic is made from recycled materials.

It’s really important not to be too hard on yourself, do what you can, where you can! Let us know in the comments below if you’ll be taking part in Plastic Free July this year, or if you have in the past let us know how it went for you!