Plastic Free July has started. But it’s never too late to get on board and act more intentionally about our plastic consumption.
So, if you are wondering how to live a plastic free life this July, here are 3 easy steps that you might not have thought of.
1. Replace the plastic in your home
We’ve all heard the mantra ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’. We roll out the recycling bins every fortnight and reuse where we can. Maybe you’re even collecting water bottles for the ten-cent return.
But have you thought about replacing the plastic in your home? It’s no secret that plastic is not only hazardous to the environment but also to our health, living plastic free is a must.
Now, the easiest place to start reducing the plastic in your home is in the kitchen where most plastic is used. Plus, it’s the gateway for every plastic item ending up eventually in the trash or worse, down the drain and into the ocean.
Have a look around your kitchen. What are the first plastic items that come to mind?
Food containers, Ziplock bags, cling wrap, plastic bottles.
The number and list of plastic in your kitchen is long. We come across it every day. Did you know the average Australian uses 130 kilograms of plastic in one year? On top of this, a mere 9% of plastic waste was recycled in 2019. And even worse: households are a larger contributor to plastic waste than manufacturing!
But there is one plastic item that seems to have an unnecessarily enduring place in the kitchen.
The item? The chopping board.
Your plastic chopping board is probably made out of polypropylene or PP. PP is heat resistant and won’t leach chemicals into your food. But even though it’s durable it has some serious pitfalls. Have you thought about what happens each time you score and scrape the surface?
Not only will you dull your knife, but you’re creating tiny bits of plastic called microplastics which are an environmental and health disaster.
And we haven’t even mentioned how each groove in a plastic cutting board harbors millions of bacteria even after you’ve washed it!
It’s a common misconception that a plastic chopping board is more hygienic than a wooden one. But the truth of the matter is that a high-quality wooden chopping board is not only naturally anti-bacterial, it’s also more durable and attractive than a plastic one. All these reasons contribute to why wooden chopping boards are a better kitchen companion than plastic. So why not get a head start on getting rid of plastic in your home with a Wild Wood wooden chopping board?
2. Environmentally friendly plastic free gift
Do you ever struggle to think of what to buy for a wedding or birthday? We’ve all been in that situation where you want to buy something meaningful but don’t want to blow the budget.
Make your choice a lot simpler by gifting environmentally friendly products starting this Plastic Free July.
You can’t lose when you’re buying something that is meaningful on so many levels: considerate to the environment, thoughtful for the recipient. On top of this, buying environmentally friendly and plastic free gifts often means you’re buying from a local business selling high-quality and ethically sourced goods.
What better way to ensure that alternatives to plastic products are shared than with an environmentally friendly product?
3. Buy products that are ethically sourced and high quality
Anyone who has heard of Plastic Free July knows it’s about finding lasting solutions to reducing and eliminating our reliance on plastic. One way to do this is to buy ethically sourced and high-quality items.
But what is ethical sourcing?
Ethical sourcing is the process of ensuring the products being sourced are obtained in a responsible and sustainable way. It also means that environmental and social impacts are taken into consideration during the sourcing process.
You don’t have to search for long to find out the harm that manufacturing and consuming plastic has on the environment. On top of this, did you know that most plastic can only be recycled once or twice before it loses its structural integrity?
So, even if you buy a product made from 100% recycled plastic – an ethically sourced material – you’re still buying plastic that overtime won’t break down once you stop using it. It will merely break apart into fine plastic particles called mermaid tears.
The truth of the matter is that we need to reduce the demand for plastic in the first place. But how can we do that? By purchasing not only ethically sourced goods but also high-quality.
High-quality items last the wear and tear of everyday use which means they’re less likely to end up being thrown away.
How do you know if an item is ethically sourced?
The simplest way to think about whether an item is ethically sourced and high-quality is to ask these questions: Who made this? What materials are used? How was it made?
Today more than ever, it’s easier to find out the story behind what you purchase. This is because businesses are responding to the increasing demand to know where our goods come from.
Basically, it is a good measure of an ethically sourced and high-quality item if you’re able to easily and clearly find the story behind the product. At Wild Wood, our chopping boards and other wooden products are all ethically sourced.
With all of this in mind, here are some of our favourite ethically sourced and high-quality products.
– Replace your scratched and stained plastic chopping board with a Wild Wood cutting board that’ll last for as long as you love it
– Ditch your cling wrap for a Charles Viancin silicone lid
– Avoid plastic takeaway cutlery with a Carry your cutlery kit. It even includes a straw!
– Get rid of your smelly plastic scourer and sponge for a coconut husk scrub pad or a Dream Cloth
– Say goodbye to collecting used coffee pods for recycling with Podstar’s reusable stainless steel ones
– An easy go-to gift that everyone needs is sunscreen. Check out Sea Shepherd’s plastic-free and reef safe sunscreen
Now you can get a head start on replacing the plastic in your home and buying environmentally friendly gifts just in time for Plastic Free July. Use all these tips and tricks to help you and others understand how to live plastic free not only this July but all year round.
