Gloucester residents have been encouraged to participate in Plastic Free July, an initiative to cease using single use plastic items for a month.
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Plastic Free July is an award-winning campaign developed to encourage individuals, organisations, businesses and communities to reduce the single-use plastic they use in July.
As well as the 31 day Plastic Free July challenge (although if that sounds too hard, you can choose to accept the challenge for a week or even just a day), the campaign works to create conversations and provide education around the issues of plastic pollution and more importantly, promote the solutions.
Created by the Western Metropolitan Regional Council, the Plastic Free July challenge began in Western Australia in 2011 with less than 40 participants.
From its humble beginnings, the challenge has grown into now international campaign which in 2016 had more than one million people worldwide accepting the challenge.
Whether you choose to refuse a handful of items for a single day, choose to refuse all plastic for the entire month, or anything in between, the Plastic Free July challenge is all about taking positive action and being part of a movement creating lasting change.
Businesses are getting on board too, encouraging customers to bring reusable coffee cups for takeaways, saying no to plastic straws in restaurants and bars, and removing plastic bags from their stores.
If you’d like to do something in support of Plastic Free July but don’t know where to start, the Plastic Free July website has a toolbox full of tips to get you started.
Consider the Plastic Free July Top 4 challenge, where you can nominate to stop using one of single use plastic water bottle, shopping bags, straws or takeaway coffee cups.
You choose what actions you want to take.
Simple local ways to start are to recycle soft plastics in the bin at Coles, and use reusable shopping bags when shopping in town.
For more information about Plastic Free July, to signup and to access the free resources available, visit the website at www.plasticfreejuly.org.