Plastic Free July
Posted by DEBBIE PLUMRIDGE
At least 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year.
How does this make you feel? Are you ready to take the pledge to reduce plastic?
Plastic Free July is a global initiative encouraging you to reduce your consumption of single-use plastics.
Organisers understand that eliminating plastics for a whole month is nigh-on impossible, all they're asking is for you to be mindful and reduce the amount of plastic you use when possible.
There is no argument that plastic is strong, light, cheap and versatile. It is an important material for our economy, providing multiple benefits to modern-day living.
Right now, It is critical in protecting our key workers in their fight against this deadly virus.
Plastic, however, can take up to a thousand years to decompose in landfill. It takes up valuable space in landfill sites and is polluting the natural environment, having a significant impact on our oceans. Many of you would have watched the BBC Blue Planet II programme where Sir David Attenborough opened our eyes to the damage we are doing to our oceans and the creatures that live within them.
It’s been widely reported that by 2050 there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish, by weight – so there really has never been a more urgent time to act.
In addition, the majority of our plastic waste does not get reused or recycled and experts believe that 50% of plastic is single-use. Single-use plastic includes plastic water bottles, plastic packaging, coffee cups, straws, plastic bags, earbuds etc. Easy swaps exist for all of these products so, for me, moving away from single-use plastic was an easy decision.
So whilst in lockdown why not take the opportunity to read up on ways you can reduce single-use plastic.
How to reduce plastic
Some simple suggestions are:
- Use your own reusable shopping bags
- Use refillable condiments, instead of relying on single-use sachets
- Use plastic-free toiletries and biodegradable wet wipes
- Refuse to use plastic straws
- Bring lunch to work in a reusable sandwich wrap and eat with real cutlery
- Use reusable water bottles and cups, and take advantage of free tap water. Check out the refill app.
- Avoid pre-packed bread, rolls & baked goods. Use a bread bag.
- Ask your shops to stock biodegradable products including tea bags, instead of those sealed with plastic
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Follow our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ShopNOPlastic/ to get some encouragement along the way.
How to get involved in Plastic Free July
It's easy - all you need to do is head over to the Plastic Free July website and commit to the challenge.
Resources:
https://www.mcsuk.org/campaigns/plastic-challenge-home
https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/
SHARE:
DELIVERY
RETURNS