Plastic Free July is a global movement with the goal to reduce plastic use and waste by encouraging people to refuse single-use plastic products for the month of July. That includes things like plastic water bottles, straws, take-away coffee cups and lids, plastic grocery bags, sandwich bags, the list is really endless. This month, challenge yourself to use as little plastic products as possible.
“It is a fantastic way to challenge yourself, set personal goals to reduce waste, and lessen your environmental impact,” says Tracey Bailey, founder of Biome Eco Stores, a business that specialises in zero waste, toxin free and ethically made products. “Australians use an estimated 5 billion plastic shopping bags every year with around 50 million entering oceans and waterways. The phase-out of lightweight plastic bags has been set for seven out of eight Australian states and territories,” says Tracey. “Although this is a positive step forward, the replacement of a thicker more durable plastic shopping bag offered by large supermarket chains is merely a band-aid solution. Avoiding plastic products is easy, and there’s myriad options you can swap them for.”
Some of Tracey’s suggestions are:
Carry a zero-waste kit to avoid using single use takeaway products
“A zero-waste kit makes it easy for you to eat and drink waste-free while out and about, you can make up your own kit depending on the items you use most, but generally a zero-waste kit includes a reusable water bottle, KeepCup, food container, straw, cutlery set and napkin.”
Swap plastic cling wrap and ziplock bags for beeswax wraps, vegan wax wraps or reusable containers
“Using environmentally friendly reusable products is the easiest way to eliminate single use plastic waste. Disposable plastic kitchen products such as cling wrap and ziplock bags can easily be replaced with environmentally friendly reusable alternatives such as beeswax wraps, vegan wax wraps or reusable containers.”
Swap a plastic toothbrush for a bamboo biodegradable toothbrush
“Hard plastics that aren’t containers, such as toys and toothbrushes, cannot be recycled through standard household recycling programs. Australians use and dispose of more than 30 million plastic toothbrushes every year, totalling approximately 900 tonnes of waste. Reduce the amount of non-biodegradable plastic entering landfills each year by using a biodegradable bamboo toothbrush instead.”
Shop at bulk food stores and farmers markets
“Instead of shopping at grocery stores where the aisles are filled with plastic packaging and pre-made foods, shop at farmers markets and zero-waste bulk food suppliers where you can purchase package-free wholefoods using reusable containers and bags. When shopping at large grocery stores, avoid purchasing anything in plastic packaging and opt for foods in cardboard boxes, aluminium BPA free cans and glass jars. Once used, the packaging can either be reused, recycled or composted.”
Make your own body care and cleaning products using natural ingredients
“Cut harmful chemicals and plastic packaging out of your cosmetics, beauty and cleaning products by making your own products at home. Beauty product waste such as empty shampoo and conditioner bottles and used lipstick dispensers is recyclable in Australia, however due to the associated costs and difficulty of recycling mixed-plastic items, they are often sent to landfill. Using natural and sustainable ingredients, you can make a range of zero waste body care products at a fraction of the cost of most commercial synthetically produced and over packaged products.”
Ditch the plastic bin liner
“A common challenge during Plastic Free July is what to use to line your household waste bin. An easy and plastic free solution is to not line your bin at all and wash your bin out every time you empty it. Alternatively, you can line your bin with newspaper or use certified compostable bags made of a material called Mater-Bi, which consists of cornstarch, biodegradable and compostable polyester and vegetable oil.”
Use environmentally friendly alternatives to clean up pet waste
“For people with pets, swap single use plastic bags with environmentally friendly alternatives to collect and clean up pet waste. An EnsoPet bokashi pet waste compost kit is an innovative system that easily and hygienically composts pet waste. It keeps your yard clean while reducing landfill waste.”
Make your food from scratch
“A large portion of single use plastic that ends up in land fill comes from pre-made convenient foods such as chip and biscuit packets, yoghurt containers, and sauce sachets. Most of these foods are packaged in soft plastic which cannot be recycled through standard household recycling programs. Eliminate this hard to recycle plastic by making food from scratch.”
This article originally appeared on Better Homes and Gardens.
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