It’s Plastic Free July

According to the Keep America Beautiful 2020 nationwide litter study, litter made from plastic comprises 38.6 percent of all litter across waterways and roadways combined.  Plastic films, both general use films and food-packaging films, such as candy wrappers or snack bags, represent the second and third most littered items in America.

The most common single-use plastics are plastic bags, water bottles, takeaway coffee cups, and plastic straws. Take a peek in your recycling bin to see if you’re using a lot of those items.  And if you have to look into your trash can to check for those items, please educate yourself about recycling!

Plastic Free July is a key initiative of the Plastic Free Foundation that has a goal to see 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. They believe, as do we, that small changes add up to a big difference.

We hope that you’re already aware of things you can easily do to avoid single-use plastic immediately, such as carrying a refillable water bottle and using recycled bags for groceries and other shopping.  But if you or someone you know needs help getting started, here’s a guide.

If you’re ready for the next step, you can start with some personal care items.  Ditch the bottle of shampoo for a shampoo bar.  Check your local farmers market for hand-made bars in wonderful scents that you can just lather up in your hands and use to wash your hair.  Same with the liquid hand soap and body gels – the bar soaps offer quality ingredients with paper or cardboard wrappers that can be recycled.  You can even get shaving bars to use with safety razors, which are generally made of stainless steel and have replaceable (and recyclable) blades.

Plastic Free July was started by Rebecca Prince-Ruiz and a small team in local government in Western Australia, and is now one of the most influential environmental campaigns in the world.  We hope you’ll join millions of people across the globe to make the commitment to reducing plastic pollution in July, AND all year round!