Wanna try, Plastic-Free July?

“One of our favourite times of year is Plastic-Free July. It’s really easy to let old habits creep in and I must admit after moving house and not knowing where some of our stuff was, I noticed the plastic creeping back into our lives.
Plastic-Free July is a great initiative, that encourages people to reduce the plastic in their lives. Started by an environmental group of 40 people from WA, it has grown into a well known annual inititiative, a great opportunity to educate and empower people as our plastic addiction is really harming the environment.

What I love most is you can do as much or as little as is practical for you. Some people just focus on one habit they want to change such as avoiding plastic supermarket bags for the month whilst others may take on the whole challenge. This is my family’s second year of participating. Last year we learnt that the disposable straws that we never thought twice about using were really harming birds and sea life so we decided to stop using them when we went out & we have some straws at home the kids like to use once in a while. What surprised me most was that the kids haven’t missed them at all and are quite happy not using them. It makes the times we do use straws that little extra special.

The challenge encourages everyone to focus on the Big 4- plastic shopping bags, take-away coffee cups, plastic straws & water bottles and find sustainable alternatives. For those already using sustainable alternatives, there are many more areas & tips for plastic-free living. You can find out more here. You can take a quiz and work out where those pesky plastics are coming from.

It’s been great to see that following the momentum, the big supermarkets have responded and announced plans to phase out their disposable plastic bags. Truly a win for people power. But there is always more work to be done, Victoria & NSW are sadly lagging behind in joining the commitment.

Some of the most inspiring action-takers have been the youngest members of our community- including young children deciding not to use balloons.

There are so many ways to contribute. Some ideas include-

having a plastic-free morning tea;

sharing posts on social media;

spreading the word with friends, family & even strangers!

asking your local shops to get behind the initiative and change their plastics;