Plastic Free July

By Julia Mauro

Reducing the amount of plastic in our lives can improve our general wellbeing. If you avoid
plastic, you are more likely to consume whole foods, avoid unhealthy processed foods, feel
comfortable by wearing clothes made from natural fibres, use fewer chemicals, and practise
mindfulness by making conscious purchasing decisions.

Reducing the amount of single-use plastic we use also significantly reduces our individual
environmental impact by reducing our household waste. “Single-use plastic” is any plastic
product or packaging that is made to be used only once, regardless of whether it is recyclable.
Manufacturing, recycling and disposing of single-use items uses a lot of resources, which has
environmental, social and financial costs.

REDCycle has stopped accepting soft plastics for recycling through major supermarkets
because there is not a big enough market for plastics recycling in Australia. Refusing single-
use plastic and exploring alternatives is worthwhile and empowering.

Even though I have always tried to minimise my individual eco-footprint, until I participated
in Plastic Free July back in 2017, I was blind to the sheer amount of plastic in my life and in
the world. When my partner’s friends asked how we were going to give up plastic, he joked
that it was easy enough because beer comes in a can and pizza comes in a box! Living with
less plastic doesn’t have to be about missing out. Instead, it’s about looking for options that
don’t contribute to the enormous plastic pollution problem, and discovering along the way a
better way to live.

Plastic Free July is an opportunity to challenge yourself to live with less plastic for the whole
month of July. If you want to give it a go, start by reducing the amount of single-use plastic
you use. Consumables in the kitchen and bathroom are the easiest place to start exploring
alternatives. Here are some basic ideas that involve creating new habits to reduce single-use
plastic (pick one or more to challenge yourself this July):
 * Refill your water bottle instead of buying bottled drinks.
 * Bring a reusable coffee cup to buy your takeaway coffee. Eco mugs don’t require a
big investment – there are so many in op-shops nowadays!
 * Take re-useable shopping bags whenever you go shopping.
 * Dine in to avoid takeaway packaging.
 * Explore plastic-free takeaway options (for example, refuse the plastic sushi container
and instead get your sushi in your own container, a serviette or a paper bag).
 * Choose products packaged in cardboard or paper instead of plastic. For example,
some pasta comes in boxes with no plastic, and butter can be bought in a
paper wrapper. Soiled paper wrappers can be composted instead of thrown in the
bin.
 * Instead of buying individually wrapped snacks like muesli bars and packets of chips:
opt for fresh fruit or buy larger quantities of snacks like nut mixes, dried fruit and
chocolate; and experiment with cooking home-made treats like bliss balls, popping
corn and muffins. All of these snacks can be bought plastic-free in bulk.
* Swap plastic clingwrap for beeswax wraps or reusable containers.
 * Switch from liquid laundry detergent to powder: it goes further and is better for your
washing machine.

In Queensland, there have been some positive changes at the political level in recent years,
with the introduction of the Cash for Containers recycling scheme and a ban on single-use
plastic straws, stirrers, plates, unenclosed bowls, and cutlery, and expanded polystyrene
(EPS) takeaway food containers and EPS cups. The Queensland Government plans to ban
additional single-use plastic items over the next five years.

Plastic is generally there for our short-term convenience, and swapping out plastic involves
an initial effort to get used to doing things in a different (and hopefully less wasteful) way.
How much plastic you consume depends to a degree on where you live. Fortunately, on the
Atherton Tablelands, there are lots of local options where we can vote with our money by
buying plastic-free. Here are my top tips:
 * Choose to buy loose (unpackaged) produce at your local markets and supermarkets.
Market stallholders are often happy for you to return the plastic mesh bags for them to
reuse. Buying local produce, like at Tablelands to Tabletop in Mareeba, reduces “food
miles” (the environmental impact of your food).
 * Take fabric bread bags to your local bakery to buy loaves of bread, bread rolls and
treats without plastic packaging. Sadly, the staff at Brumby’s Mareeba tell me we’re
the only people in Mareeba who do this. When the bag is empty, we shake out the
crumbs and put the bag through the wash. Easy peasy!
 * Fresh Street Market IGA Atherton, the Atherton Food Co-op and Essence Wholefood
Supermarket in Mareeba have a range of “bulk” wholefoods and snacks where,
instead of buying pre-packaged quantities, you can fill paper bags or bring you own
re-useable containers and buy just the amount you want. Coles has a Scoop and Weigh
section with nuts and snacks (we use paper bags instead of the plastic ones provided).
* Essence Wholefood Supermarket sells Who Gives A Crap toilet paper, which has no
plastic packaging.
* Your local delicatessen may be happy for you to keep bringing back your clean deli
containers for a refill. One example is Dino’s Europa Deli in Mareeba, which also
sells locally baked bread in a paper bag.
* Plastic-free personal care items are available from Wholelife Pharmacy &
Healthfoods (Atherton and Mareeba), Essence Wholefood Supermarket and the Earth
Turtle market stall: try soap bars, shampoo bars, bamboo toothbrushes, reusable
menstrual cups and SunButter (reef-safe zinc sunscreen).

Confronting the world’s plastic pollution problem can be overwhelming, but don’t lose heart.
Small changes can add up to a big impact. And there is no such thing as a zero-impact
lifestyle in our modern world, so don’t try to achieve perfection. Instead, focus on making a
few small changes to your habits, to create a positive difference in your own life and in our
world.

For more info and ideas, visit www.plasticfreejuly.org