Plastic Free July
Plastic Free July is here again. Join millions of people around the world who have taken the challenge to reduce their plastic waste through simple, everyday choices. Over 174 million people globally have collectively prevented millions of kilograms of plastic entering the waste stream by refusing to purchase items packaged in plastic or bringing their own reusable containers.
Participation in Plastic Free July doesn't have to be daunting. The Waste and Resource Recovery Team of GBSAN recognise that avoiding all plastic in our everyday lives is almost impossible. Our experiences are that it's so difficult to avoid all plastic that people inevitably crumble and end up feeling like a failure. What we have learned is that any effort to reduce plastic use is a valuable contribution to our environment and that the process of learning to RETHINK our plastic use through the month of Plastic Free July leads us to better habits and permanent change to avoid plastic in most, if not all, of our consumer purchases.
You can choose a level of participation in Plastic Free July which is easy for you. For instance, you may choose to avoid single use packaging only, or to avoid using takeaway coffee cups by bringing a keep cup, or you may refuse to use plastic produce bags and grocery bags for the month, or to swap plastic water bottles for your refillable one. You can tailor your Plastic Free July experience for yourself - remember that no effort is wasted. The Plastic Free July website has lots of ideas and solutions to avoid plastic and you can sign up for the challenge on their website.
Next month we will be collecting stories from the GBSAN community who have taken on the Plastic Free July challenge to share in our August newsletter. Send your story to resourcerecovery@gbsan.org.au.