A difference in your own way as world over people challenge themselves to be plastic free with #plasticfreejuly challenge every year. Every year at least for one month there are so many new ecowarriors who see that making just one plastic swap brings a huge impact to the environment.
We don’t need people being perfectly plastic free, we just need lots of people giving it a go and questioning the plastic in their lives.
You don’t have to feel overwhelmed or even do everything all month long, just a few days being conscious about what you buy, how it is packed and how you carry it back home could help.
It's all about building long term habits and mindset changes over simplifying sustainability to going without one material that can be used responsibly.
With the world still facing the #covid19 pandemic, it may be trickier than usual to avoid single-use plastic this July — and that's completely understandable.
It's important to prioritize our health and safety above being zero-waste, so please don't be hard on yourself. But for instances when it is possible to use something reusable instead of something single-use.
There are plenty of easy things to begin with and help you lead the way. You could try out with one week and push ahead if you see its totally doable.
Plastic is not biodegradable — it is either downcycled into new plastic (but only 9 percent actually gets #recycled), it sits in a landfill, or the sun breaks it down into #microplastics and pours it back into our oceans.
Start with the big four contributors:
You can pick just one item from the above every week. For eg choose #reusablebotties for the first week. Make sure you always have one in your bag or car. Plenty of places offer free filtered water that you can refill anywhere. You can also keep a count of how many bottles you would have saved from purchasing in just one week and celebrate your accomplishment.
Plastic Bags is another easy option to begin with. Keep reusable bags everywhere, in your cars, kids bags, in your big handbag to avoid the sudden need to get a plastic bag on last minute shopping trips. Try buying groceries this week in person rather ordering online as let’s face it, they always pack extra plastic and give us more wasteful packaging.
Once you have tackled the big four, you are more likely to try other areas to reduce plastic waste in your household and lives. We strongly suggest to involve all members of your family and create a reward chart for the young ones to encourage them to keep up.
We also recommend you to read up lots of useful tips on www.plasticfreejuly.org the official sponsor and initiator of this campaign.
They have given you easy swapping tips to focus on every area of your daily life that gives you the highest comfort to begin with. They also accept donations on behalf of organizations that do a lot to help local communities reduce waste.
Lastly do tag us if you give it a go this year and don’t be too harsh on yourself for occasional slipups. It’s about starting somewhere. We are in #plasticfreejuly together. You can follow us on our social media handle #realtickletickle where every Thursday for the month of July we will share easy tips that we have implemented as well.
#plasticfreejuly #saveouroceans #bethechange #noplanetb #sustainablelifestyle #lowwasteliving #shopsustainablebusiness