Plastic Free July® is a key initiative of the Plastic Free Foundation that allows us to work towards our vision of seeing a world free of plastic waste. From humble beginnings in 2011, the award-winning Plastic Free July campaign is the result of years of hard work.
Our resident Happiness officer, HR and general Friend of the Earth Kara shares her thoughts on reducing plastic from your life.
“I love the following things – being outdoors, nature, gardening, foraging, sea swimming. If I listed which each of those entail this would be a very long read!
I do not like the amount of plastic waste I see when I am out and about, it is truly shocking. Have you noticed the waste on verges? On the beach? In your road?
As a family we started really thinking over the last few years of what we can do to reduce our plastic waste and we came up with some fab ideas and I’d love to share them with you now.
We replaced our kitchen cloths with microfibre ones, these get washed in the machine every few days and we are still using the ones we originally bought so these have been a super money saver. Next up I got us a wooden kitchen brush kit, I found the plastic brushed were totally rubbish, in the kit is a brush handle and a few spare brushes, I have been using the original brush for over a year and I think I would have used at least 6 plastic ones a year. We use a sponge scourer that can be composted and again lasts a lot longer than those horrible green ones!
I am a big fan of using cruelty free products, so I always look for the leaping bunnies on the packets, some of the best products are ones that come in big refill bottles, washing up liquid, hand soap, disinfectant (Method, Faith in Nature, Ecover and a lot of supermarkets own brands fit the bill to name but a few)
I confess I was a cling film and plastic bag addict, I am really trying to reduce my use of these, so I found some beeswax wraps, these are perfect for covering chopped fruit or veg or as a bowl cover, you can wash them and re wax them when needed, they are pliable and hard wearing, I also purchased some silicone covers which are fab once you get the hang of using them.
Plastic clothes pegs, ugh, they end up brittle and I find myself picking up little bits off the lawn all summer, I am now phasing them out and using metal pegs, these are sturdier and will last a long time. Talking of washing, I now have laundry capsules and conditioner on a subscription service, I don’t have to worry about adding these to my shopping list and all of the packaging is recyclable.
Not keen on the taste of tap water? Use a filter jug – we were going through lots of plastic water bottles and out recycling bin was often full up before it was time to be emptied. Remember to use those reusable cups you have; many places give discounts on coffees if you use your own cup.
My latest change was to buy recyclable toothbrush for our electric toothbrushes – the company accepts them back to recycle them.
I hope the above has inspired you to look into some alternatives to plastic, there are loads of products out there and you don’t need to do everything, but I challenge you all to make one change, what will you do?
If you are looking for even more inspiration you can check out this article from The Independent