Plastic Free July is global movement that invites you to build awareness of plastic waste in your life. The base challenge is to "Choose to Refuse" a single-use plastic for the entire month - think plastic take out containers, plastic water bottles, plastic lids, or plastic bags at stores. You might also use Plastic Free July to focus on changing habits related to plastics like getting better at recycling plastic packaging or actively seeking out products not packaged in plastic. Below are 10+ tips for reducing YOUR plastic waste this month and beyond, starting with gathering your old CDs, DVDs, Cassettes, VHS and Beta tapes (and cases!) and bringing them to the neighborhood lawn concert on July 17 for recycling. Email us [email protected] for more information.
Skip the plastic take out containers - Ask your restaurant if you can bring your own container and let them know sustainable restaurant practices are important to you. For tips on this check out our More Sustainable Take Out initiative. While you're at it, say no to plastic straws and plastic cutlery - there are lots of sustainable choices for each these days! Keep your sustainable version in your car, desk, backpack or purse and you'll always be able to say, "No thanks, I brought my own!"
Carry your own refillable water bottle - Globally over 1 million plastic bottles are produced EVERY MINUTE. The below video helps you get a feel for what that looks like...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1_zb10euFo&t=1s
Switch out plastic wrap for beeswax wraps or reusable glass containers. Even better, repurpose / reuse glass containers like peanut butter, salsa or pasta sauce jars for your storage needs.
To make repurposing easier, choose glass containers over plastic whenever possible. Jumpstart your glass container inventory by asking for them on our local Buy Nothing Group. Email us at [email protected] for an invite.
Buy beverages like sparkling water and soft drinks in endlessly recyclable aluminum as opposed to rarely recycled plastic. While you’re at it, why not try reusable and recyclable Ball Aluminum Cups instead of single use plastic.
Choose wines featuring a natural cork instead of a plastic cork and then save those corks for our February 2023 Sustainable Edgewater Cork Collection Drive. Maybe Sustainable Edgewater will exceed the 2500+ corks collected in 2021!
Get yourself a set of muslin or net produce bags that you’ll use for years instead of minutes and pass on the plastic in the produce section. **** BONUS: muslin bags are compostable at the end of their useful life - you can’t do that with plastic!
Chew gum that's not petroleum-based - Yep, the vast majority of chewing gum on the market is plastic. Yuck! Check out this article for a companies producing plastic-free gum.
Learn more about Plastic Pollution & Solutions at our Resources page
Looking for more ways to refuse single-use? Here’s a month full of Plastic Free Choices:
https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/PFJ2022_31-Days-of-Tips-Calendar.pdf