Simple Ways to Reduce Your Plastic Waste

It’s officially July which means…it’s Plastic Free July! So what is Plastic Free July and how did it originate? Plastic Free July began as a campaign by Rebecca Prince-Ruiz and a local team in Western Australia in 2011. As the movement grew, Rebecca created the Plastic Free Foundation in 2017 to further the vision of a world free of plastic waste.

Yet, according to Plastic Free July, only 30% of global consumers know about Plastic Free July. Plastic is everywhere, from the wrappers of your food to the fibers in your clothes. It might seem impossible to avoid plastic, but it’s about the steps taken to reduce plastic consumption that matter the most.

Here are a few simple ways to reduce plastic and live a lower-waste lifestyle. Not only will these tips reduce the impact on the earth, but it will also reduce the impact on your bank account.

1. Reuse plastic bags and containers
   • I like to reuse bread bags, “ziplocks” from food, bags from packaging etc. If they’ve had food, I usually wash them out and set them out to dry.
2. Bring your own
   1. Utensils
   1. Plates/tupperwares
3. Thrift
   • Our clothes are made up of plastics and produce a half a million tons of microplastics.
4. Ditch the produce bags
   • Nature often has it’s own packaging anyway! You’re going to wash other produce anyway so skip the bag and throw it in the cart. And don’t forget a reusable shopping bag!
5. Try DIYs
   • Try DIYing items that come in packages such as detergents, soaps etc.
6. Cook at home
   • Cooking at home allows you to control the amount of plastic and waste produced. Takeout boxes and restaurant packaging account major portion of municipal solid waste (MSW), amounting to 82.2 million tons of generation in 2018 (EPA).
7. Zero waste stores
   • They can be hard to come by in the U.S., but zero waste stores are so amazing! These stores have items in bulk and encourage you to bring your own containers and buy in bulk.
8. Try zero waste swaps
   1. I’ll be doing an article on simple zero waste swaps in the future which I will link here!