Plastic-Free July: Everything You Need to Know

Plastic-Free July aims to spread environmental awareness and encourage people to use less plastic throughout the month of July. Here is everything you need to know about Plastic-Free July.

What is the Plastic-Free July challenge?

Plastic-free July is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s opting for plastic-free practices as opposed to going for more convenient, environmentally-damaging products, all throughout the month of July. It’s done with an aim for those who take on the challenge to carry their new-found eco-friendly life into the rest of the year, becoming more of a lifestyle change rather than just a challenge to beat. But why should you do Plastic-Free July and how can you achieve a successful outcome? Let’s take a closer look.

Why do we need to do Plastic-Free July?

Unfortunately, plastic production has increased exponentially over the last 70 years. According to Our World in Data, the world produced 2 million tonnes of plastic waste in 1950. This has since increased to over 450 million tonnes produced today. There’s a reason as to why plastic has become so prevalent within our society.

It’s cheap, it’s versatile and it can be used for almost anything. From kitchen appliances to disposable coffee cups, plastic has never been so relied upon. However, plastic waste can be incredibly damaging to the environment. It’s highly mismanaged. Plastic waste is rarely recycled, often ending up in landfill or being incinerated. More alarmingly, it can end up in the ocean.

According to SAS, 1 in 3 fish caught for human consumption contains plastic waste. It has detrimental effects on marine life today, claims the same source, with 100,000 marine animals and turtles, and 1 million sea birds, being killed every year. It’s never been more important to start reducing the amount of plastic we waste. But why else should you take part in Plastic-Free July?

An estimated 295 billion pieces of plastic waste is generated every year, claims Everyday Plastic.

According to Statista, around 44% of plastic waste was recycled in 2021. The same source also claims that the UK recycling rate target for 2030 is 55%. This still isn’t a large percentage when compared to the amount of plastic waste that should be recycled. Instead of relying on plastic being recycled when, clearly, not all of it is, it would be better to simply mitigate the use of plastic altogether.

Burning plastic is bad

Burning any type of waste product or material is bad for the environment, but plastic is particularly harmful. This is because, when burned, it releases heavy materials and toxic chemicals into the atmosphere, such as dioxin, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The same source also states that other chemicals are released into the air, including benzo(a)pyrene (BAP) and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), both of which are known to cause cancer. Therefore, it’s no surprise that burning plastic by way of disposal is a big no-no. Instead of burning plastic to get rid of it, why not simply refrain from buying plastic products completely?

How to take part in Plastic-Free July

Taking part in Plastic-Free July doesn’t require you to sign up for anything. Nor does it require you to spend money. It’s not a club or a subscription, it’s simply a month to raise awareness for plastic waste reduction, as already discussed. All you have to do for the month of July is reduce the amount of plastic you use as much as possible. It’s all done in the hope that your new lifestyle and waste practices carry through to the other months of the year, making it a way of life rather than a month of experimentation. So how can you take part in Plastic-Free July?

Buy loose fruits & vegetables

Buying fruit and vegetables that are loose is a great way of cutting back on plastic. This is because the apples or tomatoes you buy will not come wrapped in plastic. Almost everywhere you look in the supermarket, fruit and vegetables are packaged in plastic wrapping. Very rarely do they come in cardboard. In fact, mushrooms these days are packaged in cardboard punnets, but they’re still contained in plastic.

If you want to cut down on the plastic you’re using this July, then buy loose fruit and vegetables from the supermarket, where you can. Alternatively, you can support a local business by visiting a green grocer. Take a net or cloth bag (or just place the produce loose in your general shopping bag) in order to reduce the plastic waste you produce when doing your weekly shop.

Avoid buying plastic drink bottles

It’s very easy and convenient, when we’re about and about, to stop off at the shops to buy a drink when we get thirsty. The best thing to do here in order to mitigate that need is to be organised and prepared. If you know you’re going to be out of the house for a considerable amount of time, bring your own reusable water bottle. Leave the house with it filled with your chosen beverage.

If you run out, there are always places available for you to have it refilled, whether it be tap water or otherwise. Here at VASO, we have a wide range of reusable cups, including flutes and tumblers, available for you to choose from. They have the ability to keep cold beverages cool for prolonged periods of time, so you’ll always have an icy beverage to sip throughout the summer July month.

Avoid using disposable coffee cups

We’ve just touched on the importance of choosing reusable bottles over buying single-use plastic ones when out and about. The same goes for coffee and other hot beverages. If you’re on the go and have no time to sit in a coffee shop and drink from a mug, then make sure you’re always carrying a reusable coffee cup. This means that you won’t have to use a disposable coffee cup, which can be detrimental to the environment when thrown in landfill.

According to Nationwide Waste Services, around 7 million disposable coffee cups are thrown away every single day. If someone lined them all up, side-by-side, they would wrap around the planet 5.5 times. Don’t add to these statistics and bring a reusable coffee cup with you whenever you fancy a hot drink. If you don’t have one on you, simply don’t buy a beverage that comes in a disposable cup, sit in instead.

Bring a ‘Bag for Life’ when shopping

The Centre for Biological Diversity claims that around 5 trillion plastic bags are used every year around the world. In addition, the SPREP states that it only takes 14 waste plastic bags to have the same impact as a car giving off emissions when driving one mile down the road. When there are 5 trillion plastic bags that end up in landfill each year, think about the amount of CO2 that’s giving off annually, if 14 wasted bags have that sort of impact on the planet.

The issue with plastic shopping bags has long been a problem that many countries have been fighting to combat. In October 2015, supermarkets were ordered to charge for the use of plastic bags by the British government as a way of deterring people from using single-use plastic shopping bags.

Despite much controversy over the new charges, the incentive has shown signs of working. According to GOV.UK, 7.6 billion plastic carrier bags were supplied, for free, to supermarket shoppers in 2014. By 2019/2020, that number went down to 564 million. The same source claims that “since we introduced the scheme, the number of bags used has gone down by more than 95% in England”.

In fact, the government has seen so much success in the new scheme that they have estimated what the results will be in another 10 years. It’s also important to note that the money charged for plastic carrier bags goes to charitable causes, and not as profit to the supermarkets. With this in mind, here’s what the government think will happen in the next decade if we continue to stop using plastic carrier bags:

• An overall reduction of 21% in the number of carrier bags supplied across all bag types
• A reduction in single-use carrier bags issued by retailers by 80%
• A financial benefit of over £331 million to the British economy if the charge for a plastic bags remains at 10p

In order to offset the environmental effects of waste plastic bags, choose to bring reusable shopping bags with you, otherwise called Bags for Life. Most supermarkets these days will sell thick, strong bags that can be used time and time again. In some cases, should your bag break, it will be replaced for free as an incentive for you to keep using your shopping bags.

As well as this, any money you spend on reusable shopping bags, when bought from Sainsbury’s, will go to charity. According to the supermarket giant, around £8 million was raised for good causes since they started charging for their single-use plastic bags. By choosing to reuse shopping bags, not only are you helping a charitable cause, but you’re also helping to protect the planet.

Ditch disposable straws

Plastic disposable straws have been wreaking havoc on the planet for years. Whether they litter our landscapes or destroy our marine life, plastic straws are detrimental to ecosystems and wildlife no matter where they live. Plastic in our oceans has dire consequences, with 1 million seabirds and 1,000 marine animals dying every year as a result of plastic pollution in our oceans, claims Condor.

The same source states that plastic straws are largely responsible for this outcome, with between 437 million and 8.3 billion straws littering coastlines across the world. Despite those being vast numbers, plastic straws only make up about 1% of the plastic litter in the sea, worryingly.