Plastic Free July

1st of July marks the start of Plastic Free July. It is a global movement that encourages people to use less or no plastic during the month of July. There is hope that this will allow people to be more mindful of the amount of plastic they are using day to day, and make permanent changes to their habits long after Plastic Free July is over.

It was originally started back in 2011 by the Western Australian Government. However over the years, participants of the movement have increased exponentially and are now in their millions from around the world. A survey of over 20,000 people from 28 countries revealed that 29% of people were aware of Plastic Free July, and of those, 13% participated. This means that an estimated 140 million people from 190 countries took part in Plastic Free July in 2021. Typically participants:

• Shrunk their household waste and recycling by 15 kg per person per year (3.5% less waste)
• Globally they eliminated 300 million kilograms of plastic
• 86% of people made changes that have become permanent

There are lots of ways that single-use plastics can sneak into our daily life. Here are some easy tips to get you started:

• Instead of buying lunch out, use up your leftovers or make your own lunch at home and take it with you in a reusable tub
• Swap cling film for reusable beeswax wraps
• Exchange your plastic toothbrush for a bamboo alternative. The bamboo can then be composted at home

As a council, we are striving to reduce our use of single-use plastics by doing the following:

• Reviewing our procurement policy to remove SUPs in our contracts
• Accelerating the delivery of our SUP strategy
• Reviewing our day to day operations to see where SUPs can be eliminated

For more plastic-free related content such as an interview with the zero waste shops in the borough and how single-use plastics are affecting our environment, please check out the Circular Economy section on the Environment and Sustainability Hub. We would love to know what you'll be doing for Plastic Free July, so please send us photos of changes you'll be making to Sustainability@RBWM.gov.uk.