We are doing Plastic Free July this year. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, Plastic Free July is a global initiative whereby participants commit to going plastic-free for a month. But we think you can use some of these Plastic Free July activities all year round to better look after our planet.

As the name implies, Plastic Free July is all about reducing the use of plastics. You are encouraged to stop using single-use plastic items including water bottles, coffee cups, plastic cutlery, takeaway containers, plastic chopping boards and more. The challenge is not just about the reduction of plastic on a personal level, but also raising awareness for others, as well as encouraging companies to make sustainable changes.

We all use plastic, that’s just how it is today. However, how much you use and the way you use it is an individual thing and you have a responsibility to the environment to try and ‘do the right thing’. Your choice could be to switch to biodegradable, recyclable or reusable materials. If enough of us made these switches, we would eventually bring about real change.

The challenge is to be more conscious of your use of plastic and to try your best to use reusable or biodegradable alternatives as much as you can.

Plastic Free July Tips

So here are some of our Plastic Free July top tips on how to minimise your use of plastic:

  • Buy your own reusable water bottle and refill it from work or a public water tap / fountain.
  • Buy a reusable coffee cup and keep it in your bag or in the car, so you can use it every day and avoid using the takeaway coffee cups.
  • Support your local market day by bringing your own shopping bags, or even your own trolley to transport your shopping home. It’s cheaper, you use less energy, and you can buy more local produce. Now that’s a win-win!
  • Soap – who would have thought something as simple as soap can cause so many plastic issues in our world. Stop using single-use plastic-packaged bathroom supplies such as liquid soap in pump packs and shower gel. Instead, swap them for bars of soap. How do you do this?
  • Making the switch from liquid soap and shower gel to bars of soap is an easy way to reduce the consumption of single-use plastics. Bar soaps are now readily available in supermarkets, chemists and online, and come in a variety of blends to suit body washing, face washing, shampooing and shaving. Make your line-up of bottles become a line-up of soap bars!
  • You can even go an extra step and check the ingredients of the soap to ensure they don’t contain palm oil, which contributes to deforestation. But that’s a story for another time!
  • Bars of soap can often be purchased without packaging, especially in bulk food, health, and organic stores. Alternatively, many soap brands use cardboard to package their soap which can be thrown in the compost bin once you arrive home.
  • Make your own soap. It’s easy to do, and is a rewarding way to avoid waste. There are lots of recipes online, and once you’ve done it a few times, and gained the hang of it, you can start experimenting with different scents and ingredients.

Alternative Products to Assist With Your Plastic Free July

Use Wooden Chopping Boards – Many people believe plastic cutting boards are a healthy alternative, and this gives them an excuse to use a plastic board. However, this belief is false, in fact, wooden boards have been scientifically proven to be hygienically safer than plastic. Every time you use a plastic board you are cutting small pieces out of the board called micro-plastics, and these micro-plastics are polluting our waterways and oceans causing immeasurable damage to our sea life. Ditch your plastic cutting board and purchase a beautiful wooden board. They are attractive, environmentally friendly and easy to care for. Plus wooden chopping boards last a lot longer than plastic boards.

Wooden Kitchen Utensils – Get rid of those plastic kitchen utensils and make the switch to the long lasting wooden ones, not just for Plastic Free July but forever. Remember those wonderful wood spoons your Mum or Nan used when cooking up all those delicious meals in their kitchen back in the day? Well they used wooden spoons and other wooden utensils for a reason. They are the best tools to use as they are ideal for multiple tasks, last a long time, are warm and comfortable in your hand, and are an eco-friendly alternative to using plastic.

Avoid cling wrap – there are many fantastic alternatives to plastic cling wrap that you can use to help reduce plastic pollution. We use over 700 million metres of cling wrap in Australia every year! Enough to go around the Australian coastline more than 11 times. Now that is pretty frightening. How do you avoid using cling wrap?

  • Storing and packing food in reusable glass containers is a great start.
  • Stocking up on reusable silicone lids, such as the famous range of fun Charles Viancin silicone lids which you can use to cover food in almost any type of bowl, or saucepan. They are 100% airtight and keep food fresh for longer. You can also use them in the microwave and oven.
  • With a reusable cloth cover or beeswax wrap. There are lots of beeswax alternatives on the market, many with cute designs which are far more attractive than a piece of cling wrap.
  • Don’t use cling wrap for sandwiches, instead use wax wraps or containers, which make a great, reusable alternative for wrapping sandwiches.

The Result of Our Plastic Free July Ideas

The results of following our Plastic Free July activities, tips and ideas is super beneficial:

  • Enjoy a simpler bathroom routine that makes you feel good.
  • Reduce plastic waste, and the use of our natural resources which goes into creating it.
  • Protect our wildlife, especially those in the oceans, who often mistake plastic for food.
  • Reduce plastic waste and the use of our natural resources which goes into creating it.
  • Prevent the chance of lightweight cling wrap blowing out of rubbish dumps into our natural surroundings, where it will stay forever, or at least hundreds of years.

Do This July Plastic Free

Plastic Free July is a global movement that empowers millions of people to choose a future with cleaner communities and oceans through refusing single-use plastics. It is a great opportunity to get thinking and talking about plastic pollution, as well as the alternatives and solutions you must seek and support in the future.

Tens of thousands of marine animals are killed every year from plastic bag litter when they mistake plastic bags for food such as jellyfish. Plastic is linked to cancers, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and many other ailments. So do your bit this July and make it a Plastic Free July by following some of our Plastic Free July activities!

Check out our selection of wooden spoons and gadgets and order yours today!