It’s Plastic Free July!
What started as a local Western Australia initiative has grown into a global phenomenon, with numerous countries participating each year.
Want to get involved this year? We have some simple ways you can go plastic-free this July.
Ditch the Takeaway Coffee Cups
We love our coffee so much that three in four Australians enjoy at least one cup of coffee a day, with 28% of people having three or more cups per day. Takeaway coffee cups are not often recycled correctly, and if they are recyclable, they usually require particular facilities and conditions.
You can easily avoid takeaway coffee cups by bringing your coffee cup to your local café. You don’t need to buy a fancy cup. You can always use a ceramic coffee mug from home or a glass jar (be mindful, it’s hot) with you. Some cafes even give you a discount for bringing your cup along.
Swap Plastic Bags for Reusable Shopping Bags
Single-use plastic bags have a significant impact on the environment and have almost been banned across Australia. With all but NSW with the ban on plastic bags. Most supermarket chains have banned single-use plastic bags and urge their customers to use reusable bags.
What can you do? Say no to plastic bags in the shop or bring your own from home.
Reusable shopping bags are a great alternative to single-use plastic bags, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Just leave them somewhere you will remember them, like near your front door – now you can even buy reusable key-ring bags if you have trouble remembering.
Say No to Plastic Straws
According to Clean up Australia, Australians use about 10 million straws every day, with straws only used for around 15-20 minutes before being thrown away.
By refusing single-use plastic straws, you are stopping these straws from ending up in our waterways and in our oceans, which can be fatal for our marine life.
If you need a straw, why not invest in reusable straws? They are easy to clean and carry with you. Another way of saying no is encouraging your favourite retailers, cafes and businesses to stop stocking plastic straws and investing in paper straws.
Choose Plastic-Free Products instead
More and more supermarkets cater to items with longer shelf life and more plastic wrapping as it means that products can be kept fresh for longer. We can see this with fruits and vegetables, nuts and legumes and even dish-washing powder and liquids.
To avoid plastic, why not buy your fruits and vegetables loose from your local supermarket or farmers market and place them in your basket or trolley until you can put them in your reusable shopping bag. This will save on single-use plastic.
Another great way is to buy from bulk store foods like Naked Foods. By buying in bulk stores like this, you can get precisely what you need, and you can bring along your reusable containers and jars too!
BYO Water bottles
One million single-plastic use bottles are purchased and used worldwide every minute, with 27.1% of the Australian population drinking bottled water in any given week – that is, a lot of water bottles that are ending up in the landfill. Most water bottles sold in Australia are now mostly recyclable, but there are still many bottles that are not being disposed of correctly.
Just by carrying your reusable bottle, you are saving the environment. Just make sure the bottle is made from environmentally-friendly materials such as glass, stainless steel, or safe aluminium.
Bibliography
- Plastic free July (n.d) What you can do. Accessed <https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/get-involved/what-you-can-do/>
- McCrindle (n.d) Australian attitudes towards coffee. Accessed < https://mccrindle.com.au/insights/blogarchive/australian-attitudes-towards-coffee/>
- NRA (n.d) Ban Bags Across Australia. National Retail Association. Accessed <https://bagban.com.au/#nsw>
- Clean Up (n.d) Straws No More. Clean Up Australia. Accessed <https://www.cleanup.org.au/straws-no-more>
- Fenton, M (2018). We’ve banned the bag, but what about plastic bottles? Sustainability matters. Accessed <https://www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/sustainability/article/we-ve-banned-the-bag-but-what-about-plastic-bottles–302545684>
- City of Sydney (2021). Advanced tips for living a more plastic-free life. City of Sydney. Accessed <https://news.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/articles/advanced-tips-for-living-a-more-plastic-free-life>
- WWF (2019). The state of Australia’s recycling – how did we get into this mess? Accessed < https://www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/the-state-of-australias-recycling-how-did-we-get-into-this-mess#gs.393jtu>
- Martinko, K (2018). A Beginners Guide to Plastic-Free living. Treehugger. Accessed <https://www.treehugger.com/beginners-guide-plastic-free-living-4858498>
About the Author:
Latasha Trenaman is a Sydney based writer who is passionate about healthy eating. Latasha’s partner was diagnosed with diabetes in 2018. She has made it her life mission to share her and her partners’ experiences living with diabetes by promoting healthy food, especially sugar-free options. She believes in the power of writing and how it can inspire others in their journey to becoming more healthy. When she is not writing, she is walking her dog or baking sugar-free treats.
