Small Changes, Big Impact

I'm more than half way through Plastic Free July! Plastic Free July is a global movement to reduce plastic waste and show consumer demand for more sustainable solutions. By consuming less stuff, we can help reduce some of the upstream waste created when products are made.

Did you know?
• Most plastic can only be recycled once, unlike glass and aluminum which are continuously recycled.
• Only hard plastics are recyclable, while flimsy plastics are sent to the landfill.
• Americans tend to be aspirational about their recycling, helping us feel less guilty about our consumption. We often toss things into the blue bin that aren’t actually recyclable. These non-recyclable items make their way to recycling plants and cause all sorts of issues and contaminate batches of recycled goods.
• Recycling plastic is expensive! It’s often cheaper for companies to manufacture using new materials than recycled ones.

Think of all of the plastic you come into contact with every day and how little of it is actually recyclable: candy-bar wrappers and chip bags, tubes of toothpaste, the lids of to-go coffee cups, plastic take-out containers, plastic clamshell containers, all of those plastic Amazon envelopes. Once you start to notice how prevalent it is, it’s hard to unsee. 🗓 For Plastic Free July I’ve been avoiding single-use plastic all month and changing some habits around my own plastic consumption. I’m far from perfect when it comes to waste — this next month has been tricky but I’m up for the challenge!

I’ve created a list of simple swaps you can make to reduce your consumption and help the environment. Whether you want to go full-on plastic-free, or just start making small swaps, I found it helpful to have some guidance along the way. You can download it here 💚

follow along on Instagram!