Take the Choose to Reuse pledge for Plastic Free July
1. Pick your action
- Say no to disposable water bottles - BYO and refill
- BYO coffee cup or use Green Caffeen, if my local cafe is ready to accept them again (due to COVID-19)
- Target food takeaway items - ask for no utensils or straws, choose take away options without plastic takeaway containers
- Avoid single-use plastic packaging (buying loose vegetables, homemade snacks, make beeswax wraps)
- Take your reusable bags every shop
- Find or make plastic free alternatives to products (skincare, beauty, household)
- Go completely plastic-free!
2. Take the Pledge & click here!
3. Share your Pledge
We can all make a difference!
Take the Pledge for Plastic Free July.
Why this matters
Single-use items or disposable items are products and packaging that we throw out after only one use.
These items are used for only minutes but their impact on our environment can last thousands of years.
Each year, 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced globally, of which, 40% is single use plastic which will only be used once before it is disposed of.
At UQ, for example, we throw away over 8,000 disposable coffee cups each day - almost all are sent to landfill because their plastic lining makes them difficult to recycle.
Most single use plastics will end up in landfill where they persist for hundreds of years.
If these plastics do not make it to landfill they inevitably find their way into our oceans, and it is here where the greatest environmental damage is caused.
At least 8 million tonnes of plastics end up in the ocean each year.
This is equivalent to the contents of a garbage truck each minute and if current trends continue, by 2050 there will be more plastics in the ocean than fish.
By refusing single use plastics you can help conserve virgin resources and protect our pristine nature. Another great side effect, of course, saving money.