Plastic Free July

Hello again you lovely lot,

I don’t know about you, but I can’t quite believe how quickly July has passed us by. So I thought this blog should be about Plastic Free July.

Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution. They have inspired over 250 million participants in 177 countries. How incredible is that! At plasticfreejuly.org they provide so many tips on how you can reduce your plastic usage in all aspects of your life. Whether that is at home, work, school or events etc. It’s a great resource that I know I will be referring back to throughout the next few months.

When I saw that Plastic Free July was approaching I wasn’t entirely sure where I should start. I was already going to my local refill shop to top up on my dried goods, but I knew there was so much more I needed to change. What I was happy about was no matter where I looked people would say ‘It’s not about changing everything at once, but do it gradually. This is what I try to tell my friends and family. Now that the end of the month is here, I’ve changed more than I thought. We now get our milk delivered twice a week (I’m sure it tastes much better in glass than in plastic). I have swapped our toothbrushes to bamboo ones and my little one loves it! We are still getting used to chewing tablets to brush our teeth rather than squeezing them out of a tube. Swapping our toilet roll was such an easy swap. I think I will still try a few different brands to see what we get on best with. There’s so much more I want to swap and I will definitely be asking for recommendations on them, so keep a lookout.

I had a look into how Plastic Free July helped last year:

• 250 million participants adopted 325 million ‘choose to refuse’ behaviour changes.
• Participants reduced their waste and recycling by 23kg per person per year.
• 825 million kg of plastic waste avoided including millions of single-use drink bottles, coffee cups, packaging, straws and plastic bags.
• Stories of change are shared with others telling about baking, recycling, switching to unpackaged goods, litter clean-ups, school projects, community and workplace events.
• They have a positive sense of well-being, which increases with participation in Plastic Free July.
• Plastic Free July is newsworthy. Across the world, 2214 pieces of media coverage were generated with a global readership reaching over 100 million people.
• 80% support action to reduce plastic waste by consumers, producers, retailers and by government.

I can’t wait to see what has happened in the last year. I’m sure the global pandemic won’t have helped. As I know for many of us it was just getting whatever you could get your hands on!

I would love to hear what changes you have made and what you were already doing! You will inspire me to do more and keep moving forward.

Until next time.

Thank you for reading,

Love Demi x