How to succeed at plastic-free July

Handy tips and tricks on lasting a whole month without plastic

We all know that the use of plastic is bad — for the environment, for wildlife and for our health. Yet with so many products being made from or packaged in plastic (and with much of it single-use) it seems almost inescapable. But it's possible to avoid plastic, if not in all areas of our lives, then in most of them. With a few conscious choices, swaps and evasions, we can reduce or eliminate plastic from major parts of our everyday, like from the food and drink we consume, the bags we use, where we shop and how we entertain ourselves. If you are looking for a way to challenge your plastic use, why not take part in Plastic Free July?

What is Plastic Free July?

Beginning in 2011, Plastic Free July (plasticfreejuly.org) is an initiative founded by Australian non-profit charity the Plastic Free Foundation; it allows them to work towards their vision of seeing a world free from plastic, with the belief that small changes add up to a big difference. From its humble origins, Plastic Free July is now one of the most influential campaigns around the world. Each year, millions of people take part from more than 190 different countries, with many participants committing to reducing plastic far beyond the month of July. According to the charity:

• Plastic Free July participants reduce their household waste and recycling by 15kg per person per year (3.5 per cent less waste).

• Partakers reduced 2.1 billion tonnes of waste and recycling in 2021, including 300 million kgs of plastic consumption. • In 2021, 86 per cent of people made changes that have become habits/a way of life.

• After 11 years, Plastic Free July has reduced global demand by 2.3 per cent of all bottled water, 3.1 per cent of all fruit and vegetable packaging, 4 per cent of all plastic straws.

How can we take part?

The happy news is that anyone can get involved in Plastic Free July, all is takes is a little bit of planning, some motivation and a whole lot of refusing plastic! Depending on your lifestyle and schedule, you can start out small or really challenge yourself. Here are some ideas for reducing and eliminating the plastic in your life.

Eating and drinking

This is a biggie — it can be extremely difficult to avoid plastic when buying or consuming food and drink, since so much is packaged in pesky plastic. Try these handy tips:

• Always keep a refillable water bottle with you, to save having to purchase water in plastic bottles.

• If you know you are likely to buy a hot drink when out, keep a reusable coffee cup in your bag.

• Keep a reusable food storage box on your person, preferably one that's not made from plastic, like those from Elephant Box (elephantbox.co.uk) or A Slice of Green (asliceofgreen.com). When buying food on the go, ask if staff will prepare your meal in your box, instead of a single-use container.

• Pack a reusable cutlery set in your bag, so that if you ever grab a takeaway meal, you can refuse plastic knife and fork sets. Bamboo kits are great, as are stainless steel — though bamboo is lighter to carry! Don't forget to pack a reusable straw too.

Shopping

Just as buying food and drink to eat on-the-go can incur pollutive plastic, so can purchasing food from a supermarket. So much is packed in plastic that is impossible to avoid it in many circumstances. Luckily, there are a few simple steps you can take to limit or eliminate plastic when out shopping:

• Take your own reusable canvas bags out with you to pack your shopping in.

• If you shop at a supermarket, weigh out and buy fruit and veg loose — most stores offer this service, including Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons (who in 2018 began offering an incredible 127 varieties of fruit and veg loose!).

• Shop at zero-waste stores, which sell everything loose and instead ask you to bring your own containers to weigh out your purchases into. Bulk food stores are also great.

• Make more of your own food and drinks from scratch. A lot of the food we buy comes packaged in plastics, but by making it all yourself, you eliminate the plastic middleman! If you follow a whole food plant-based diet, you probably already make most of your own patties, ‘sausages' and desserts, removing the need for packaging in your life if you buy ingredients from zero-waste stores.

Celebrating

As lovely as balloons, streamers, confetti and banners are, they can all easily be swapped out for reusable or plasticfree items. With a little bit of creativity and forward planning, you can plan a party that's free from all types of plastic decorations. Popular decorations that can be homemade and/or reused include:

• Bunting made from old magazines, jeans, T-shirts or fabric off-cuts.

• Tissue paper pom poms.

• Banners created from old T-shirts or tablecloths.

• Bouquets of flowers from your garden (or a friend's).

• Confetti made from petals, dried leaves or old newspapers.

• Salt dough baubles and hanging shapes.

Likewise, friends and neighbours can be a great source of reusable decorations or materials for crafting your own. Before you go out and buy anything, put out a word to those around you and see what you can borrow or have. On top of this, avoid disposable plastic cups and plates and instead, borrow the crockery and cutlery needed for your party from friends and family, or if you must, opt for eco-friendly paper plates and cups.

Dental care

How many toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste do you get through in a year? The American Dental Association recommends that everyone replace their toothbrushes every three to four months, so if everyone in America was to follow that advice, over one billion toothbrushes would be thrown away each year (nationalgeographic.com). The case is the same for toothpaste, with most individuals going through an average of seven tubes per year.

Plastic toothbrushes are a fairly recent invention, with those made from natural fibres being used up until the 1930s, when the first plastic brush was made. Toothbrushes and paste aren't the only plastic dental products though — you might want to check what your dental floss is made from and packaged in, since most comprise of nylon, polyester, PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) Teflon or GoreTex, and nearly all are housed in a plastic case. But you can easily avoid using plastic in your dental hygiene regime, it might just take a few searches and swaps. Here are some ideas to start you off:

• Swap your plastic toothbrush for a bamboo one.

• Opt for plastic-free dental floss; just be aware that a lot of ‘eco-friendly' floss is coated in beeswax and therefore won't be vegan-friendly. Look up Bambaw (bambaw.com), Tio (tio.care) &Keep (andkeep.com) online stores which all stock refillable, vegan dental floss.

• Use toothpaste tablets, like those from Eco Living (ecoliving.co.uk), &Keep (andkeep.com) and PÄRLA (parlatoothpastetabs.com).

Sanitary items

For people who menstruate, period products are a monthly essential. Sadly, most mainstream brands of sanitary items produce single-use pads and panty-liners made from and packaged in plastic, as well as tampons with plastic applicators. There are loads of ways to resolve this issue though, by making a few sustainable swaps in the menstruation products you use. Challenge yourself to do one of the following:

• Buy plastic-free sanitary towels. Great brands include Organyc (organyc.uk) and Flo (hereweflo.co).

• Switch to reusable pads, like those from Lady Days (ladydaysclothpads.co.uk), Moontimes (moontimes.co.uk) and Earthwise Girls (earthwisegirls.co.uk). • Opt for reusable period pants —

Dame (wearedame.co) and Cheeky Wipes (cheekywipes.com) offer tonnes of options. • Swap to plastic-free tampons, such as products from Organic Mondays (organicmondays.co.uk), Natracare (natracare.com) and Hey Girls (heygirls.co.uk).