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This July, we challenge you to join what the Plastic Free Foundation has named “Plastic Free July.”
The movement calls for consumers everywhere to take strides to reduce their plastic intake during the month to raise awareness of plastic pollution.
The Plastic Free July campaign began in 2011, with the goals of reducing single-use plastic and changing consumer habits. Since then the movement has gained global recognition with participation spanning 190 countries and 89 million individuals. The impacts of the campaign are nothing short of amazing. In their 2023 Impact report, the foundation noted that in five years, participation in Plastic Free July has led to a 10 million metric ton reduction of household waste and recycling.
In 2018, Collins Dictionary dubbed the term ‘single-use’ word of the year, highlighting the proliferation of plastic in the global economy. The dictionary defines ‘single-use’ as “made to be used once only,” a perfect term for the throwaway culture that has been ingrained into us. We see plastic in every aspect of our daily lives, so much so that we have become somewhat immune to comprehending the scale of single-use plastics. But plastic appears everywhere from snack packaging to soap bottles to bags. Plastic, almost always made from fossil fuels, is inextricably linked to big oil and gas companies, pumping carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into our atmosphere and degrading our environment for over a century. Even more, only a fraction of plastic ever produced has been recycled.
Plastic is not just a pollution problem, but a climate change one as well. If we truly hope to protect our Earth and curb global temperature rises, we must eliminate single-use plastics, and this can start at the individual level.
So you are ready to say no to single-use plastics? Plastics are ubiquitous, but it is okay to start small if you are not able to completely ban single-use plastics from your daily life.
Here are some of the easiest alternatives to using single-use plastic:
For more ways to reduce your plastic intake, check out our favorite eco-friendly cleaning supplies. The Plastic Free Foundation also offers many resources to eliminate plastic waste.
Here at Aclymate, our in-person employees say no to plastics by using mugs for our daily coffee and eating our lunches with reusable silverware.
Plastic is a massive problem, one –despite the term ‘single-use’ – we can't just throw away. Meaningful action starts at the individual level and has the power to create broader changes in plastic legislation and the economy that target the world’s biggest plastic polluters.