Plastic Free July — take the challenge!
We are surrounded by plastic. Chances are that the first thing you touched this morning was made of plastic. Heck, your pajamas and bed sheets are probably full of plastic!
Plastic in itself is not a villain. This amazing material has allowed us to develop great technologies, make our cars and planes lighter (thus using up less fuel), store food for longer, and even take medicine to far away places. However, we somehow ended up using one of the most durable materials ever created for things that will be disposed after only a few seconds of use.
This is the major dilemma of single-use plastics.
Moreover, in our society, consuming more tends to be a symbol of greater prosperity and success. We are drowning in our own trash and yet we continue with mass production and few real-world examples of efficient waste management.
Fortunately, the world has never before been so aware of this problem. Since the 1970s scientists have been reporting how plastics and other litter are harming our oceans and plastic pollution is now at the center of virtually all major environmental conversations.
Living a completely plastic-free life is almost impossible, I know. But I would like to invite you to challenge yourself to see just how much plastic you could avoid!
Plastic Free July is a campaign that started in 2011. The initiative involves more than 170 countries and, in 2019, an estimated 825 million kg of plastic waste was avoided by the 250 million participants involved.
These numbers can seem overwhelming, but the Plastic Free Foundation (who organizes the campaign) promises anyone can get involved! There are tips for those who are just getting started, those who would like tips for their businesses, or maybe even for their local government.
Here are a few “getting started” examples:
Takeaway coffee cups can be replaced by a reusable cup.
Refuse buying fruit and vegetables that are wrapped in plastic.
Instead of plastic shopping bags, take a reusable one.
Make “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” a personal mantra — and in this order! First reduce as much as you can, reuse whenever possible and only then turn to recycling for whatever is left.
