Feedback on Plastic Free July 2019

As we bid farewell to Plastic Free July 2019 I would love to hear your feedback on the month.

• Is this the first time you had heard of it or are you seasoned in the art of plastic free living?

• What successes can you report back from the month? 

• And what failures?

• Do you think it was larger than in previous years or about the same?

• Did you see much about it on social media or in mainstream news outlets - TV, newspapers etc?

• And what do you think we should be doing from now onwards?

• What else can you add?

 

My gut feeling was far more people are plastic aware now than they were a year ago but if we are not careful people will become disillusioned about how hard the task ahead is and will give up trying to reduce how much plastic is in their lives.  We need to keep this momentum going and fight back against the likes of Trump who chose last month to start selling his branded plastic straws or the food department of M&S who launched their mini shop with all its associated plastic.

How can we all work together to beat plastic?  Please do leave your feedback in a comment.

20 Great Plastic Busting Ideas to try in #PlasticFreeJuly

Plastic Free July is upon us, challenging us to go plastic free for a month.  Wow - just think how great things would be if we all did that but some people have, quite rightly, said they cannot go plastic free for all sorts of reasons - food may not be available to them without plastic or it may be too expensive.  They may need medical supplies than come in plastic or have to buy things for family members that are plastic.  But I say to you all, don't be put off Plastic Free July because you don't think you can manage to go plastic free for the month. Instead do the very best that you can and use the month as a stepping stone to a plastic reduced life thereafter.  Here are 20 things you can do to help yourself on that journey.

20 Great Plastic Busting Ideas

1. Remember that every piece of plastic you reject is a win.
2. Do a plastic audit in your house and bin so you can identify where your household plastic lurks. 
3. Use the month to research out plastic free alternatives.
4. Focus on eliminating single use plastic - this blog post on ditching disposables might help
5. If you have to buy plastic then contact the manufacturer/shop saying you want to see change - call them out on social media.  If they send you back a cut andpaste corporate answer, ask for specific answers to your plastic related questions
6. Go on a litter pick.
7. Write to your MP asking what they will do to reduce plastic.
8. Look at your workplace - can plastic be reduced there?
9. Liaise with your children's school/clubs or your own college/university/clubs to help reduce plastic.
10. If you are feeling a bit rebellious, when you end up buying plastic, unwrap the items and dump it at till.
11. Research where your nearest zero waste shop is - if it is a bit far join up up with friends and do a bulk buy together.
12. Join plastic busting/zero-waste Facebook groups and follow accounts like Pointless Packaging on Instagram.
13. Party time?  Why not link up with other parents or the PTA to make a party pack of reusable plates etc.
14. If you are having a BBQ and might previously have used plastic plates why not do what everyone here in France does and just ask your guests to being their own. 
15. Set yourself one food challenge a week to reduce plastic.  Pick 4 foods you buy in plastic and make them at home
16. Learn where plastic is to be found - did you know it is in many teabags and most wet wipes?  Become plastic savvy!
17. Find out if you have local milk delivery and sign up.  Maybe this doesn't work for you all the time but every glass bottle helps reduce plastic milk bottles
18. Sign up for a veg box delivery.
19. Talk to your kids about reducing plastic and what changes you will all need to make as a family.
20. Shout about your successes on social media and remember to use the hashtag #PlasticFreeJuly.

Did you know it only takes 21 days of doing something new for it to become a habit?  That's right, just 21 days to make rejecting plastic a habit.  21 days to save the planet from the scourge of single use plastic.  It's not much is it?

 What will you be doing to reduce plastic through Plastic Free July?

Other posts you might like to read:

12 ways to wean yourself of supermarket plastic      

When supermarkets need a pat on the back

12 ways to wean yourself off supermarket plastic

Supermarkets ore often synonymous with large amounts of plastic. Not only are many of the products on their shelves sold in single use plastic but much of this produce will also arrive at the supermarket on trays wrapped in plastic that are on pallets that are further wrapped in plastic.  Now in an ideal world all consumers would turn their back on these plastic producing supermarkets who would then be forced to change their ways if they were to survive.  But we do not live in an ideal world so what can we do right now to reduce how much plastic we buy?  How can we wean ourselves off supermarket plastic?

When supermarkets need a pat on the back

I have previously blogged about the negative impact supermarkets have on the environment - from excess packaging to selling out of season imported produce and a lot more besides, I am the first to admit I am not a lover of supermarkets.  But I am also a realist. I use supermarkets and I also know that they are not going to go away in the foreseeable future and so when this image popped up on Facebook I was really pleased.  As far as I am aware Morrisons are the first supermarket to actively encourage customers to bring their own containers when buying meat from the butcher counter.  Brilliant news.

Image from The Rubbish Diet Facebook Page

The British Plastic Federation and #PlasticFreeJuly

I was really pleased to hear that at the end of July plastic was talked about on Radio 4's You and Yours consumer affairs programme in response to both #PlasticFreeJuly and to the survey that says that 90% of people want to see a plastic free aisle in the supermarket.  I was, however, less pleased to hear what the supermarkets and British Plastics Federation had to say about plastics.   You can have a listen here, it is the first topic discussed - PlasticFreeJuly on You and Yours.

 

Observations on #PlasticfreeJuly

So #PlasticFreeJuly is drawing to a close for 2017.  How was it for you?  Did you manage to refuse plastic and find alternatives?  Did you learn anything new and will you move forwards more plastic aware?  I know I learnt a lot from the month, some of which was rather depressing but some was really very uplifting.