This World Environment Day, Plastic Free July Foundation is calling for us to collectively address one of the world’s greatest environmental challenges. Plastic Free July aims to raise awareness of the problems with single-use disposable plastic and challenges people to do something about it. You’ll be joining millions of people from 159 countries world-wide in making a difference.
So, this World Environment Day, the Plastic Free July Foundation is launching its campaign to call on us to #ChooseToRefuse single-use plastics.

#ChoosetoRefuse Single Use #Plastisc- Making a difference is as simple as swapping out your usual disposable coffee cup with an eco-friendly version, bringing your own re-useable shopping bags or switching to soap instead of using bottled wash products.Click To Tweet

The Plastic Free July campaign, now in its seventh year and a global movement, will kick off next month with the simple challenge for Australians — as well as concerned citizens worldwide — to find new ways to reduce their plastic consumption.

#ChooseToRefuse Single-Use Plastics

Speaking of the challenge, Executive Director and Founder of the Plastic Free July Foundation, Rebecca Prince Ruiz said,

“Virtually every piece of plastic ever manufactured still exists in some form today.

Plastic, particularly single-use plastic or ‘throw-away’ plastic items, are not getting

recycled effectively and are having a detrimental impact on our environment.”

“With the big supermarkets moving to ban single-use plastic bags, there is no better

time to turn universal awareness of plastic waste into universal action on

single-use plastics.

This July, our aim is to empower all Australians to choose to refuse and collectively

contribute by making small changes to their day-to-day actions

to make a big difference.”

The production of waste is increasing, it is estimated that each Australian produces 565 kg of household waste every year and 20 million tonnes goes to landfill in Australia alone. ^,
Although plastic waste is made on land it often leads to problems downstream in the ocean. In fact, it is estimated if we continue what we are doing that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.

Plastic Free July started in 2011 in Western Australia and the Foundation is one of the only organizations in the world to tackle the prevalence of single-use plastic through empowered consumption reduction. The campaign has since grown into a movement of 2 million participants in 2017.
“Although the size of the plastic waste problem is frightening, the numbers tell us that small actions can make big impacts. Last year, participating households of our campaign reduced their landfill waste rates by nearly 10% which in my home state of Western Australia translated to 10,400 fewer tonnes of waste generated by participating households.”
“Making a difference is as simple as swapping out your usual disposable coffee cup with an eco-friendly version, bringing your own re-useable bags to get groceries, or even switching to soap instead of using bottled wash products. The campaign is a great time to get creative with how you can reduce your single-use plastic usage and share ideas with others,” Rebecca said.

Colin Ashton-Graham, the Consulting Behavioural Economist behind many sustainability campaigns backed this challenge, saying:

“Plastic Free July works because it connects our shared desire to protect the environment

with strong social norms around avoiding litter and waste.

By asking people to ‘Choose to refuse’

PFJ participants are empowered to make a difference on one plastic item and then to notice

all the other plastics they could act upon on a daily basis.

Simply, our commitment to making a

difference increases when we engage our ‘hands’ in taking personal actions.”

Plastic Free July’s Top Tips to #Choosetorefuse This July:

Use an eco-friendly coffee cup to get your caffeine fix on the go
Avoid plastic packed products – choose loose produce and products in paper packaging
Bring reuseable bags to do your grocery shopping
Bulk buy or get re-fills where possible
Use stainless steel or glass straws – refuse to use plastic straws
Use beeswax wraps, or a reusable container, instead of gladwrap to keep your produce fresh and plastic-free
Refuse plastic take out containers – use your own stainless steel or glass containers

Make a Difference: Get Involved

Plastic Free July is an independent not-for-profit Foundation with the mission of building a global movement that dramatically reduces plastic use and improves recycling.
To participate in the Plastic Free July campaign this year, sign-up to the challenge on the website and access resources to help make environmentally friendly lifestyle choices.