Here we are at the end of July…or is it somehow still March? Oof 2020. Anyway, here are some more thoughts I have for Plastic Free July this year, ones that we can keep around all year long.
Being Realistic
It’s important to be realistic when working on reducing your plastic use. Not only with your goals (plastic will still be in your life) but also with your recycling (“wishful” recycling is actually really harmful) and also with your shopping-buying larger plastic items is better than two small ones (think lotion or peanut butter) but don’t let that be the only thing that drives your shopping-food waste is still an issue so buying a bigger clamshell of lettuce or bag of carrots is not always going to be the best option. Meal planning can help with this but remember that it’s a scary time so be realistic in how much salad you are actually going to eat in a week (as opposed to comfort eating a bag of Cheetos-which I would say is perfectly acceptable considering the situation).
I’ve said it many times before, but you can’t fail at Plastic Free July! Don’t let those influences who are “totally plastic free” make you feel bad-you are only seeing what they want you to see-remember they are taking that video/photo on a phone with plastic components-its VERY HARD to be zero plastic!
This is a good reminder that not all plastic is bad. We see this a lot more this year with masks and gloves and Plexiglas shields protecting us. Syringes, IV bags and countless other medical supplies, pipettes and other supplies for #science plus computers, tvs, parts in cars and pipes and all sorts of things we can’t even fathom. There is a reason plastic is used so much-it’s incredibly useful. So again, be realistic in your goals-we cannot stop plastic use or even creation but we can slow it down, especially in our personal lives, we can let leaders know how we feel (and let our wallets do the talking) and we can dispose of it properly. No one knows what the world’s situation will be when we (finally) get to the end of this dumpster fire of a year but here at the end of another Plastic Free July you can take control of your environmental impact.
With that in mind I will suggest that if you’re interested, to do some reading on the plastic problem and what you can do, including the new book from the Plastic Free July creator. (I am not affiliated with this :P). There are tons of book options if you type “plastic” into your Goodreads search, all providing something everyone can use: more education on a subject!
With that we will end another July and move into whatever August will bring us ?. Wash your hands, clean your phone, dispose of your masks properly and stay safe my friends ?