Plastic is one of the greatest inventions of all time. It allows us to preserve food and water easily and cheaply. Its light weight nature makes it ideal in cars, airplanes and in shipping. Out lives would not be the same without out. But as plastics become cheaper, and more accessible, the plastic waste and pollution problem is too hard to ignore. wnat to be motivated to do better without changing your lifestyle forever?
July, for environmental activists around the world has become a month to go Plastic Free. You have probably seen videos and testimonials of people who try and do zero waste year round. Now is a challenge for you to try it out for a month. There is lots you can do.
Who started plastic free July?
Plastic Free July was started by Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, the founder of the Plastic Free Foundation, and a small team in local government in Western Australia, and is now one of the most influential environmental campaigns in the world. The idea is take on a challenge, small or big, and see what kind of impact you can make for the month of July.
How can you go plastic free?
Some ideas are bringing a usable coffee cup to your favorite cafe. Some of the hipper ones have been running loyalty shelves for years, allowing regulars to store their mugs on the wall. We saw this years ago at University Toronto at Diablo’s Cafe. Also at Cafelix in Jaffa.
Artists like Coldplay are offering limited release album made using waste plastic recovered from the Rio Las Vacas river in Guatemala by the Ocean Cleanup. The Nile River has a plastics cleanup program as well where byproducts are being turned into new objects.
But the best way to reduce plastics is by not using them in the first place. Common sense ideas are being canvas bags for shopping and avoiding the so-called reusable bags, made from plastic but which degrade quickly and are more polluting that simple plastic bags.
Buy in bulk at your local grocers that offer bulk and come with your own containers. Bulk Barns and bulk buying has always been around. You just need a little pre-planning and it’s easy to skip the waste.
You can make your own household cleaners easily. Here is our guide.
Choose to buy natural fibre clothing and not that made from polyester and synthetics.
We don’t want to tell you to ditch your plastic aligners used to straighten your teeth, but if you are considering orthodonture work, consider a non-plastic solution to be on the safe side.
Swap out your bottled liquid soap for bars, dine in, not out. And cook more real food at home. We have piles of recipes on Green Prophet to get you started.
Getting rid of plastic for a month also sounds like a nice project Christians could try for the 40 days leading up to lent. (See Christians go on a carbon fast). Elevate your spiritual life and doing good by the planet will make a lot more sense. We know that when we spend a lot of time in nature, all the things of city life suddenly make less sense. Who cares about new clothes anyway? Second hand is the best.
