We are midway in to Plastic-free July! Time flies by quickly, but it is never too late to start! This global yearly challenge helps increase our awareness about single-use plastics and how to avoid them more often. Some people may have concerns about how inconvenient and time consuming some of the single-use plastics substitutes may turn out to be. Others may feel very overwhelmed and guilty about the amount of these plastics that they are using right now. These feelings can become obstacles to fulfilling or even, attempting to do this Plastic-Free July Challenge. Therefore, how can we help them?
SINGLE-use Plastic-free July: Ways To Be Involved
• Take it slow: You do not have to jump into this challenge by getting rid of ALL PLASTICS! Start slow beginning with one day, one week, and in the future, the whole month of July.
• Observation of your daily habits: Besides cutting down by not using those single-use plastics, looking for alternatives for them is very crucial. Sometimes, you have to be creative! For example, pet owners worry about the little “poop bags”. To be honest, even the so-called compostable ones only breakdown in the perfect and unique conditions. Hence, bringing your old, local flyers and newspapers to scoop and throw away into the trash can is an idea.
• Be accountable: When you write down a goal, you are making yourself more accountable to the task. Write it down to remind yourself of your determination to reduce your single-use plastic consumption.
• Don’t wait till July: Next year, you can start earlier, like around mid-June, to prepare and purchase anything that you need to replace those single-use plastics in your life. If you wait till July, you can be overwhelmed by all the new purchases and give up.
• Spread the news: It is a great idea to let everyone in your life know that you are doing this Plastic-free July Challenge. Let them know why you are doing this and you may even inspire them too! Remember to share on social media!
Final Note
DON’T GIVE UP! We all sometimes make mistakes and may have a slip up and use a plastic. Just continue to do your challenge and remind myself to not make that mistake again. Don’t beat yourself up!
What have you done to challenge yourself this Plastic-free July?
