If you haven’t heard of Plastic Free July before, it follows the same idea as Dry July - except instead of cutting out booze you’re cutting out plastic.
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Equally as tricky, but arguably more important!
According to Founder of Ocean Protect, Jeremy Brown, July is the perfect time to think about how to reduce the amount of plastic you use: “Every minute, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into our oceans from stormwater and if we don’t take action now, by 2050 there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish,” he said.
Brown’s business supports Plastic Free July as part of its broader efforts to reduce plastic pollution in our oceans.
So, reducing our plastic use is now more urgent than ever.
There are tonnes of small, easy changes you can make to play a part in making the world a better place.
Here are 15 tips to help you go plastic free in the month of July:
1.Beeswax sandwich wraps: Beeswax, cotton or hemp wraps are a versatile food packaging system that keeps food fresh longer without using cling wrap.
2. Stainless steel straws: Eight million tons of plastic flow into the ocean every year, which is why more and more venues are using reusable stainless-steel straws as an alternative.
3. Bamboo cleaning cloths: Bamboo cloths are a sustainable cleaning fabric to use on most surfaces in the home.
The natural material has antibacterial and UV resistant properties so it doesn’t need chemical treatment.
4. Reusable coffee cups: 16 billion paper cups are used for coffee every single year, which leads to 6.5 million trees cut down, four billion gallons of water going to waste and enough energy to power 54,000 homes for a year.
5. Stainless steel drink bottles: Plastic bottles are not biodegradable and are currently the 5th most commonly found rubbish item at coastline clean-ups.
It also takes 450 million barrels of oil each year to produce bottled water for the globe.
6. Stick to real plants: Buying living plants for your home and office may require more effort, but they have a few benefits over plastic plants.
7. BYO reusable bag: Plastic bags may seem like just another media buzzword at the moment but there’s a reason for this - plastic bags make up for a substantial amount of the world’s waste and pollution.
And we’ve all seen the negative effects of plastic bags on our marine life.
8. Buy more wholefoods: Processed foods may seem convenient, but they come with a whole lot of unnecessary plastic packaging.
Wholefoods like fresh fruit and vegetables on the other hand are washable and often come in their own compostable wrapping designed by nature.
9. Use a handkerchief: The environmental footprint of facial tissues is massive. Not only do they pile up in landfills, they also come with plastic packaging.
10. Reusable Makeup Remover Pads: The environmental footprint of facial cleansing wipes is massive. It takes over 100 years for a makeup wipe to break down in landfill, and they also come with plastic packaging.
11. A bar of soap can go a long way: A great trick to reduce plastic use is to use bars of soap rather than liquified bottles of soap. A soap bar will outlast two to three bottles of liquid soap, which will also save money and extra trips to the store.
12. Use tea leaves instead of plastic tea bags: About 70 to 80 per cent of bags are made from compostable paper while the remaining 20 to 30 per cent contain heat-resistant polypropylene - a form of plastic.
As well as environmental issues, there is potential for the plastic to have a negative impact on human health.
13. Use silver cutlery: This may seem like an easy one, but most of us revert to disposable plastic cutlery for picnics, barbecues and even when having lunch at the office.
Like coffee cups and bottled water, plastic cutlery has many negative impacts on the environment, so stick to the silverware.
14. Pack your own lunch: The takeaway food industry involves a high level of plastic use - from individually plastic-wrapped cutlery to the food packaging itself.
15. Give up gum: Not many people are aware but due to demand in the 1950’s for chewing gum, manufacturers replaced the raw ingredient of gum with a synthetic product.
Now chewing gum creates 100,000 tonnes of plastic pollution every year.
For more information on how to protect our oceans from plastic, head to www.oceanprotect.com.au.