Plastic Free July 2024: Getting Involved and Making a Difference

Key takeaways

• July is Plastic Free month, but what does it mean and what can you do?
• We’re taking a look at why everyone should get involved this month and help reduce plastic pollution around the country.
• Find out some ways you can tackle plastic waste and what we’ve been doing so far.

What is Plastic Free July?

The Plastic Free July challenge is a global movement that aims to reduce plastic waste, plastic pollution, and single-use plastics. It encourages participants to become part of the solution by cutting their single-use plastic waste to zero for the month.

By doing this, millions of people can reduce their plastic consumption for good and change their habits forever. The month can highlight simple changes in day-to-day life that can make a massive difference. Currently, plastic pollution is at an all time high, and it’s impacting:

• Animals: As more and more habitats are becoming polluted by plastics, more animals are dying. Whole species are struggling to survive because of microplastics and marine animals are choking and becoming trapped due to plastic wrappers and other waste.
• Global warming: Plastic is made from fossil fuels. Extracting these emits huge amounts of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming and the climate crisis.
• Health: Microplastics are making their way into our food and and water supplies, impacting our health. Alongside this, a warming climate brings with it numerous health risks.

How you can get involved

So, let’s all do our bit and try the Plastic Free July challenge. You can choose exactly what changes you make to suit your lifestyle, but let’s look at some ideas to get started.

Don’t buy single-use plastics

For the month, try to avoid buying anything that’s packaged in single-use plastic. It may sound simple, but it’s harder than you may think! As soon as you start paying attention to packaging, you’ll realise just how extensively it’s used and how far we need to go to prevent huge amounts of plastic waste.

Here are some top tips for finding alternatives:

• Fruit and vegetables: Instead of buying the pre-packed fruit and vegetables in a supermarket, opt for the loose items that you pack yourself.
• Water bottles: Always bring a reusable bottle with you wherever you go! This means you’ll never find yourself opting for a plastic bottle of water when you’re out and about.
• Plastic bags: One of the most common single-use plastics is bags. Never leave the house without a tote, backpack, or reusable shopping bag so you don’t have to purchase a plastic bag at the till.

You can also refuse single-use plastics during the month. If you’ve purchased food or a drink that is served in plastic, refuse it and ask them to serve it in your own reusable containers. It may take a little more organisation, but it’s worth it!

Recycle

While we can’t reverse years and years of plastic production, we can ensure it is disposed of correctly so it doesn’t go to waste. This is why recycling is essential. If plastic products can be reused to create another product, they are no longer single-use and won’t end up polluting our environment.

Start by ensuring your home has a proper recycling system. You can check with your local council when recycling is collected and their specific rules for recycling bins so you can stay on top of it. Next, ensure your place of work or school is recycling effectively. If they aren’t, help them set up their own process.

If you live near a beach or in a city, then litter picking can make a huge difference. There’ll usually be organizations and groups already set up for this that you can join, but if there isn’t, simply put some gloves on, grab a recycling bin bag, and get picking! Sign up to join a Plastic Free Community to find these opportunities.

Spread the message

One of the most important things you can do this month is keep the message alive! By keeping conversations surrounding plastic pollution going, we can ensure that it remains at the forefront of people’s minds.

Here are some ideas:

• Create posters: Informative posters can be a fantastic way of communicating lots of information in an easily digestible format. Include key statistics, facts, and ways for people to reduce their plastic use and then pin them up in areas of high footfall, like communal areas of apartment buildings, community noticeboards, schools, and your place of work.
• Post on social media: Social media is a fantastic tool for sharing information and making people aware of prevalent issues. Sharing the Plastic Free July challenge on your social media accounts, like Facebook and Instagram, can help spread awareness.
• Share articles: If you’ve found a useful or interesting article (like this one!) then why not send it on to a few friends and family members? It may seem like a small action, but it makes all the difference!
• Chat with friends: Sometimes, simply bringing up these issues with friends is all that’s needed to spur them on to make a change. Inspire and motivate each other and make a change together!

What we’ve done so far

As you can imagine, here at Plastic Free Schools, we’re all about July. However, every month is Plastic Free for us! So far, we have already achieved some fantastic results, thanks to our Plastic Free Communities and over 3,000 schools around the country tackling plastic pollution with us.

Our Plastic Free Schools

More and more schools are receiving their Plastic Free accreditation, and there’s still time to get yours before the summer term is over! Submit your evidence whenever you can as we’ll still be reviewing them over the summer, ready for when the schools return in September.

Our schools have been making a huge difference already. Cardinal Newman Catholic School removed plastic bottles (sales) from their school – by the end of this academic year they will have prevented 120,000 plastic bottles from being used!

There’s nothing stopping you from getting your school involved, so sign up now!

The 2024 trash mob

We encouraged schools around the country to join in with our trash mob, which is a nationwide school clean up. With everyone in it together, between the 1st and 7th of July, we had the opportunity to document exactly what single-use plastics are polluting schools.

With this data, we can understand the plastic waste issue even further and create initiatives to combat it. If you took part, please send us your data! The deadline is the 14th of July and with the information, we can present an accurate and detailed case for change to the government and industry.

Plastic Free Communities

It’s not just schools that can make a difference. Every single individual can, too! Plastic Free Communities focuses on bringing people together in their neighborhoods and fighting plastic pollution together.

Every member of a plastic free community is being asked to pledge a single-use plastic that they’ll remove from their life. This is a fantastic way of slowly finding alternatives to plastic and eventually cutting out all single-use plastic.

If you haven’t already, sign up as an individual and share the Plastic Free Communities plastic pledge!

FAQs

Is July a plastic free month?

July is officially recognised as a plastic free month, thanks to Plastic Free July encouraging people to reduce their single-use plastic usage and spread awareness of plastic pollution.

How to support Plastic Free July?

To support Plastic Free July, you can pledge to stop using a specific single-use plastic.

What are the rules for Plastic Free July?

There are no rules for Plastic Free July, instead people are encouraged to give up a type of single-use plastic they use often and seek alternatives.

What is the objective of Plastic Free July?

The objective of Plastic Free July is to reduce plastic pollution and spread awareness.

Final thoughts

We’ll only be able to look after our environment and stop plastic pollution for good if we work together. So, whether you work in a school, are a student, or are simply an individual passionate about the climate, sign up for Plastic Free Schools and Plastic Free Communities now.

In the meantime, why not take a look at what single-use plastic you can remove from your life and start finding alternatives now!