July marks the start of the Marine Conservation Society’s plastic free challenge; are you taking part?
Whether in or out of the house, the chances are you can see something plastic; it’s everywhere. We produce around 300 million tons a year, half of which is single-use and 8 million tons of which ends up in our oceans. It’s a huge problem. It doesn’t biodegrade so hangs around littering our environment for thousands of years, leaks pollutants and causes problems for wildlife that mistake it for food or get tangled in it.
But, do we really need to use so much? The answer is no, but avoiding it is a challenge. How do you buy shampoo and conditioner, survive a food shop or make a cup of tea – yes, tea bags contain plastic, as do many other unexpected items such as chewing gum. It is almost impossible to go plastic free completely.
That doesn’t mean we should just give up though. Society is waking up to the plastic problem. There are now many ways to cut your plastic waste. Use a bamboo toothbrush, buy sauces, condiments and spreads in glass bottles or jars and avoid all products with microbeads in, for example. Find ten more ideas on our AnimalKind page, Top 10 ways to reduce your plastic waste.
Join the fight and go plastic free now
So, why not give it a go and see how well you do? Sign up on the MCS website now and #GoPlasticFree in July. We would love to hear how you get on, why not join us on our Facebook page and let us know. You’ll get to stay up to date with all the OneKind Planet news too!