A plastic free July-Are you up for the challenge?

Hello hello hello. Long time no talk. I’ve been in a bit of a rut as of recently and I had absolutely no clue what to blog about. Until a couple days ago. I was listening to a podcast called Live Planted and the topic of conversation was Plastic Free July. I saw the title and was immediately intrigued. It sounded like a challenge that was right up my alley. So I did some research, made a few lists and now I’m prepped & ready for the month of July!

I’ve already been trying to reduce the amount of plastic (and by extension, waste) I use but there’s always room for improvement. There are still a few aspects that I could probably improve on or change to help reduce my overall plastic consumption.

Every step counts so for the moth of July, in addition to what I already avoid/refuse/reduce, I will be tackling those aspects that seem to be the hardest for me i.e food/grocery shopping & buying takeaway.

What is Plastic Free July?

Founded in 2011 by the Plastic Free Foundation, Plastic Free July is “a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution”.

Not only is Plastic Free July helping to reduce our plastic waste for the month, it’s also raising awareness of the copious amount of plastic that we purchase, use and dispose of in our everyday lives.

From the toothbrush we use to brush our teeth to the cup of coffee we get from Starbucks. It’s all plastic and will end up in a landfill or in the ocean at some point.

It may seem like a daunting task at first. But start small. Cut out single-use plastics such as plastic bottles, plastic bags and straws. Then when you’ve mastered that, look at items such as toothbrushes and beauty products. And before you know it, you’ll be as sustainable as they get.

Plastic Free essentials

There are a couple items that you can get to make the month of July and your plastic-free journey a bit easier. Again, start small by picking a few swaps and then expand your collection.

• Reusable bottle + coffee cup
• Tupperware (take with you to avoid takeaway boxes)
• Metal/bamboo straw + utensils (say no thanks to plastic straws & utensils when eating out)
• Canvas bag (take with you when shopping to avoid using plastic)
• Produce bag
• Reusable silicone food storage bags (avoid the plastic ziploc bags)
• Tea steeper/strainer (avoid teabags)
• Menstrual cup

There are so many more swaps you can make but these are a few of the basics that I find handy.

Collect your plastic waste

When I was listening to the Live Planted podcast, the host mentioned having a dilemma bag for the month of July and I thought that was absolutely brilliant. Essentially, a jar, or box or bag that you’ll place all your plastic waste in throughout the month. At the end of the month, you can sort through it and see the major culprits and figure out how you can try harder to reduce/avoid those plastics in the future.

You may also be motivated to say no to plastic because who wants an overflowing dilemma bag? No one.

I’m excited to hold myself accountable and maybe, just maybe, I’ll do a dilemma bag haul at the end of the month.

So are you up for the challenge?

It’s our duty to help protect the earth in any way we can.

You can officially pledge to go plastic-free here and check out all the amazing resources provided by the Plastic Free Foundation.

Be sure to follow me on Instagram for plastic-free tidbits throughout the month and after that.

---

---

Other posts you may enjoy:

(Guest post) 7 tips for starting a zero waste lifestyle

International Coastal cleanup 2018

Menstrual cups: hit or miss?

---

Until next time,

Mikayla