Remaining Up to date on October 10, 2023
It’s July, and when you’re into eco-friendly residing, you acknowledge what which means… it’s time for Plastic Free July! To rejoice, I believed I’d spherical up just a few easy swaps.
Plastic Free July began in Australia in 2011. The goal of a no plastic July is to keep away from disposable merchandise, considerably single use plastics, in your full month. I’m sharing my favourite Plastic Free July concepts together with my most fascinating concepts for Plastic Free July. Many uncover that with these swaps, going plastic free for one month turns into long run lowered plastic utilization — which has an unlimited affect on the planet!
Numerous of the hyperlinks beneath are affiliate hyperlinks for additional data please see my disclosure safety.
Plastic Free July
Plastic Free July is meant to be a difficulty. You may resolve one disposable to keep away from like single-use plastic straws, otherwise you would possibly try and keep away from the enormous 4 which may be grocery baggage, plastic straws, to-go espresso cups, and plastic water bottles. The reality is, you would possibly go all in and keep away from ALL single-use plastics for the ENTIRE month of July to make sure that you an exact downside.
Because of it’s solely a month extended dedication, you will get your toes moist and see if it’s one issue you’d should pursue long run.
The fact is, many ‘full-time’ zero wasters began by collaborating in Plastic Free July! The lifestyle made hundreds sense that they determined to maintain up at it!
When you begin decreasing your trash and publicity to single-use plastics, you would possibly uncover it’s simpler than you depend upon!
I used to be hooked due to it improved my complete successfully being and correctly being, my pores and pores and pores and skin, helped me get monetary monetary financial savings, and extra!
This publish begins out with just a few easy swaps like water bottles and toothbrushes, nonetheless evolves into some swaps you may not have heard about! And, the final word swap is MY FAVORITE — a present that retains on giving — so make sure you test it out!
With out further ado, listed beneath are my extreme 10 EASY swaps you can also make for going plastic free this July.
plastic free july concepts
1. reusable water bottles:
Day-after-day in america, 50 million plastic bottles are landfilled. Deal with quite a few waste!
It is attainable you will be questioning why we’re landfilling these bottles as a substitute of recycling them.
Recycling is nice and place to start out out out (we’ll cowl it afterward inside the problem), nonetheless it is not the reply.
Have you ever learnt plastic solely has a 9 p.c recycle worth? That’s about to drop even decrease due to China has put a ban on plastic imports from the U.S. for recycling.
The primary of my 10 concepts for Plastic Free July is to easily ship your personal water bottle. The LARQ Bottle is SO cool!
It’s a self-cleaning water bottle that purifies the water inside a light-weight single-walled stainless-steel bottle.
LARQ makes use of UV-C LED light to remove as rather a lot as 99.9999% of E.coli out of your water and bottle.
Earlier that, 1% of each LARQ Bottle buy helps to wash up our oceans by way of a partnership with Plastic Financial institution. They’ve a perform to take away 1 million single-use plastic bottles from the ocean.
RELATED: Suggestions on how one can Filter Water With out Plastic
2. reusable espresso cups:
From Starbucks alone, we threw away 4 billion espresso cups in 2017. That’s insane.
Many of the paper cups you obtain at espresso retailers are literally lined with plastic, which suggests they’re NOT recyclable in most suppliers in america.
So, most espresso cups merely wind up all through the landfill.
Fortuitously, there are a bunch of picks by means of avoiding these single-use plastics.
You may ship your personal thermos to the espresso retailer, ask for a mug to remain, and even use a mason jar. And, you don’t ought to get a elaborate new mason jar — you would possibly upcycle an earlier one from pasta sauce or salsa.
Seize my concepts for the Most interesting and Quickest Technique to Take away Labels from Jars.
3. tea:
Looking for one issue scrumptious to place into your reusable thermos? Do it’s a must to’re a tea lover like me, then it would shock you to be taught most tea baggage are constituted of plastic.
A new take a look at discovered that the luggage can launch BILLIONS of plastic particles into your cup. Yum…
Among the many many biggest methods to keep away from your tea being steeped with a facet of polypropylene is to easily sip unfastened leaf tea!
The California Tea Dwelling began at a neighborhood California farmer’s market the place their small batch blends turned so well-liked they opened up a web site.
They’ve the most important number of USDA Licensed Pure tea blends throughout the usand are completely plastic free. They use recycled packaging and biodegradable peanuts for all of their shipments, so that you presumably can begin sipping some unfastened leaf goodness.
Really one in every of their hottest blends is the Lime all through the Coconut, and I take into accout my Dad driving me loopy by having enjoyable with that observe on repeat all by way of my twelfth birthday.
Must you need to give a variety of of The California Tea Dwelling‘s unfastened leaf teas a attempt, you will get 15% off plus free provide with the code GOINGZERO15.
RELATED: 6 Sustainable Unfastened Leaf Tea Producers
4. reusable straws:
Have you ever learnt all through the U.S. alone, over 500 million straws are used each single day? That’s a median of 1.6 straws per express specific individual!
Plastic straws are primarily unattainable to recycle due to almost no curbside program accepts them. They’re just too small and will clog instruments.
Whilst you would possibly be capable of merely keep away from a straw for water or tea, many summery drinks are made WAY elevated with a straw. So a helpful, moveable, reusable straw is a painless decision to kick off your No Plastic July.
Tropical smoothies, combined drinks, milkshakes, and considered one in every of my personal favorites — boba tea!
Internet Zero Co makes tremendous cute reusable straws that hook up together with your key ring.
Their straws are constituted of stainless-steel and meals grade silicone, so that you just don’t have to fret about clanking your enamel — considerably when you’re having pleasurable alongside together with your drink whereas strolling.
Their signature design telescopes so that you would possibly merely regulate the scale of the straw, and it comes with a cleaner.
All of Internet Zero Co‘s merchandise are shipped in plastic-free packaging, nonetheless the best half is that each order crops a tree in partnership with Eden Reforestation Duties which fights poverty and reverses deforestation!
With the code ‘GZW10‘ you will get 10% off your complete order at Internet Zero Co.
RELATED: Take the cheeky quiz
which reusable straw is biggest for you?
5. swap your toothbrush:
Have you ever learnt each toothbrush ever created stays to be in existence?
When you end collectively alongside together with your present toothbrush, why not change to a bamboo one?
A bamboo toothbrush may be composted so that you just don’t have to fret about your earlier brush sticking spherical for all eternity.
There are tons of assorted bamboo toothbrush corporations which have popped up — and few are even equipped in enormous shops like Goal and Walgreens — nonetheless my favourite is Brush with Bamboo.
RELATED: Zero Waste Toothpowder + Brush with Bamboo
6. plastic-free floss:
Whereas we’re taking a look at your oral care habits, have you ever ever considered floss?
Frequent floss is commonly plastic. Earlier merely being plastic, it’s poisonous. It’s coated with PFC’s which is a chemical that’s present in teflon. Yikes.
Instead, why not floss with a USDA Licensed Bio-Primarily based completely product that’s completely refillable? Efficiently, you’re in luck due to Flosspot sells merely that.
Flosspot makes eco-friendly dental floss from each silk and corn when you’re vegan.
Their floss is obtainable in a reasonably glass containers and stainless-steel (merely in case you’re clumsy like me), and you should buy plastic-free refills to insert repeatedly.
7. reusable cotton swabs:
Do you’re taking into accout the image of the sea horse holding onto a cotton swab that went viral in 2017?
That’s due to most cotton swabs today are made with… you guessed it — plastic! Yep, these pesky single use units appeared fairly unattainable to interchange till now.
LastSwab is designed to interchange Q-tips, which may be one in every of many important frequent ocean air air pollution.
LastSwab is the primary sanitary, reusable quite a few to the 1.5 billion single-use Q-tips produced every single day. Constructed to last as long as 1,000 makes use of, LastSwab is obtainable in two variations — the necessary for cleansing and the marvel for make-up utility.
Do it’s a must to’re concerned about attempting LastSwab, you will get 10% off for the month of July with the code ‘GoingZeroWastePFJ‘!
8. change to bar cleaning cleansing cleaning soap:
I’m frequently amazed by what number of plastic-free swaps you can also make all through the lavatory. For a tiny room, it could actually undoubtedly pack a wasteful punch.
One easy decision to keep away from any additional plastic bottles is to vary to waterless merchandise.
The primary ingredient you pay for in factors like cleansing and sweetness merchandise is water! And, why pay for water (and to have water shipped all by way of the nation) if you would possibly merely add water at residence?
The Zero Waste Retailer offers a variety of of the most effective shampoo & conditioner bars on the market out there in the marketplace! With higher than 1,000 5 star opinions, you may be snug with placing your hair in good arms.
Their shampoo bars are vegan, cruelty-free, palm oil free, plastic-free, and completely zero waste — making this a Plastic Free July no-brainier.
It is attainable you will get 10% off at The Zero Waste Retailer with the code GZW10!
9. ditch detergent bottles:
Talking of waterless merchandise… have you ever ever considered cleansing merchandise?
Efficiently Earth Devices is a household owned and run retailer in Oregon. They’re devoted to top quality merchandise with zero plastic, and their laundry detergent STRIPS will rock your world.
Constructive, I mentioned strips! They’re like small objects of paper that you just simply throw in your washer to get every half tremendous clear, they typically work terribly correctly.
This plastic-free detergent choice is fragrance-free, paraben-free, phosphate-free, readily biodegradable in accordance with OECD 310D, hypoallergenic licensed by impartial dermatologists, biodegradable, vegan, bottle free, AND shipped in plastic-free packaging!
It’s essential to use the code GZW10 to get 10% off your order at Efficiently Earth Devices!
10. zero waste hand sanitizer:
You may guess I’ve been ready for refillable and zero-waste hand sanitizer — and it’s HERE!
Sanikind has launched a cultured, helpful, eco-friendly, and setting pleasant decision to keep up healthful on the associate with out contributing to the worldwide single-use plastic disaster.
Comprised of 100% recycled ocean-bound plastic, Sanikind’s stylish personal spray bottle clips appropriate onto your key ring!
Sanikind makes it easy to spray down door knobs, your cellphone, and your arms. Their system is cruelty-free and authorised by WHO and the FDA.
The Sanikind refill is obtainable in a 16oz aluminum bottle, sustaining every half #PlasticFree.
BONUS!! going plastic free as a present that retains on giving:
Now, that is my favourite suggestion all through the WHOLE publish, and I’ll allow you to understand why…
Loads of people obtained’t be desirous to make life-style adjustments on their very private, nonetheless with a simple nudge throughout the actual route, you will get them hooked.
I’ve achieved this with my mother, grandma, and pop. Principally, as quickly as they discovered about my eco-friendly life-style, they thought I used to be a bit unusual. Then, I gifted them a simple swap like a variety of of the alternatives above, they typically realized these ‘eco-friendly’ swaps have been AWESOME.
A few of the swaps saved them cash, some saved them time, and a few have been merely pleasurable! The underside line is that they have been hooked!
So, why not reward a pal or member of the family a small reusable merchandise to allow them to form out Plastic Free July with you?
Instead of wrapping these things in typical wrapping paper, which is constituted of plastic, why not go for a BEAUTIFUL pure cotton, no-waste quite a few to wrapping paper that you just simply’ll should reuse, physique, or current perpetually.
Wrappr is a girl owned company primarily based in Toronto, Canada that focuses on participating reusable, ‘wrapping paper’ that could be utilized repeatedly.
Their perform is to remove waste and single-use plastics, and to assist artists. Every of the artists receives a lower of each sale of their prints.
As a bonus, they ship all of their merchandise in recycled and sustainable offers!
Significantly… aren’t they participating!? And, you will get 15% off your first order with the code ‘GOINGZEROWASTE’ over on Wrappr!
faqs
what are your most fascinating concepts for plastic free july?
Begin collectively alongside together with your greatest areas of weak spot! By doing a trash audit (and even just a few trustworthy thought alongside together with your self), you would possibly even see the place you produce mainly in all probability probably the most trash. For example, when you clear solely with disposable paper towels, an ideal place to start out out out is swapping to reusable cloths/towels.
Must you acknowledge you get a disposable espresso cup every single day and order takeout with a plastic container and fork, swap these out for glass Snapware and making your personal espresso.
how many people take part in no plastic july?
Not sufficient, nonetheless it’s getting elevated yearly! In line with this have an effect on report, about 29% of worldwide prospects (research: about 313 million individuals) have been conscious of the idea of a no plastic July, and 13% (about 140 million individuals) participated in 2021.
In line with the equal take a look at, participation has lowered world demand of two.3% of all bottled water. That alone is insane, nonetheless it furthermore lowered 3.1% of fruit and vegetable packaging, and 4% of all plastic straws. Consider the have an effect on if all of us used these Plastic Free July concepts! Consider if we carried out even half the subsequent ideas for the remainder of the 12 months as correctly. We may change the panorama of disposable objects for the higher.