This month is Plastic Free July all around the world. The aim is to encourage ordinary people to cut their use of plastic to help the environment.
Here are some easy ways you can join in Plastic Free July.
- Avoid single-use plastics
Avoiding single-use plastics is one of the easiest ways to reduce plastic use.
Single-use coffee cups, plastic bags, food wrap and, above all, plastic drink bottles are major contributors to pollution. It’s fairly easy to swap them out for better alternatives; you just need to plan ahead.
According to the website Plastic Expert, around eight million tonnes of plastic bottles enter the sea each year. The problem is so bad that they estimate by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish.*
Other things you might try to swap out include disposable razors, plastic toothbrushes and cleaning products and cosmetics that come in plastic containers.
- Avoid hidden plastics
Products that don’t obviously seem to contain plastic (but often do) are harder to avoid. Microplastics (tiny plastic particles that you often can’t see) are a particular problem.
Products that can include hidden plastics include wet wipes, hand and shower gels and other cosmetics, as well as clothing made from synthetic fibres like polyester.
It may surprise you to learn that even some tea bags contain plastics.
Some tea-makers use sealing plastics to hold their bags together.
Cigarette filters usually contain plastic – another good reason to give up smoking.
- Make longer-term changes
Long-term lifestyle changes can really help reduce plastic use – and even save you money.
Buying loose and unpackaged products wherever possible reduces the use of all kinds of packaging.
Bulk buying food and other household goods can help. (This way you get more product and less packaging.)
Home cooking from scratch is better than ready-prepared and packaged food. Better still, if you grow some of your own veggies.
Have a happy and healthy plastic-free month.
We hope you’ve found these tips interesting and inspiring. You can help reduce plastic use even further by sharing them with your friends and colleagues.
* Source: Plastic Expert
