Plastic Free July: how to stop being so ignorant about your plastic consumption.

Plastic Free July posts are popping up all over the place, which makes me so happy!  Recently, a friend and fellow blogger notified me she had signed up for the challenge to see how well she could do; I was thrilled for her, as she has been very involved with mindfulness, as well as practicing kind habits for the environment.

Plastic Free July is an awesome incentive to get people thinking about the amount of plastic waste they produce, and start thinking about ways they can reduce this harmful product.  However, it still upsets me greatly that a lot of people, quite frankly, do not give a shit.  They would rather continue to live in ignorance and not accept their environmental responsibility.  This is shocking to me because they do not understand how easy it really is; how one little change can have such a positive impact on the planet if you just forego a tiny piece of convenience in your life.  And really, it’s not that inconvenient – you’re just lazy.

Now, Plastic Free July comes with CHOICES!  Is that not wonderful?  We all love choices; they are everywhere all the time!  Smart move, PFJ.  Here are your choices:

1. Avoid ALL plastic waste for one whole month (daaaaaayuuumm!)
2. Avoid the 4 main plastic culprits: straws, to-go cups, bottles, and bags.

Choice #1 is for the H-core plastic avoiders (power to ya!).  I signed up for this one, but I know it will be a challenge even for me because I am going on two holidays, involving both a road trip and plane travel, so there will be obstacles.  But by golly I will try.

Choice #2 is for those who have recently become conscious of plastic waste, and want to try and challenge themselves to see how well they do.

Really, you should all be signing up for Choice #2 because it is SO easy!  Want to know how easy it is?  No?  Well, I’m going to tell you anyway because it’s just that important.

1. Plastic straws – when frequenting restaurants, practice saying, “No straw, please.”  Miraculously, your drink will be served sans le straw!  If you are really into blended drinks and simply cannot live through summer without them, you may want to invest in a reusable straw option, as I did when I broke my jaw.  There are paper options, bamboo, stainless steel… or heaven forbid… you could, like, use your mouth?!
2. To-Go cups – Are you one of those people that purchases a daily coffee at a drive-thru?  Are you one of those people that tosses them out the window as soon as you’re finished because you just cannot be bothered?  Well, dear friends, there is a marvelous invention called the REUSABLE TRAVEL MUG!  Keep it in your vehicle and get your java fix.  Garbage avoided.  You can make them super fancy nowadays, like with pictures of your loved ones, or a golden zipper (no, seriously).
3. Plastic water/other bottles – You need to read “Blue Covenant” and you will probably never buy bottled water again.  Did you know that water flows freely from our taps at home?  Did you know that said water is more regulated and tested than bottled water?  Did you know that most water bottles just contain said tap water that has been a little filtered and then you get charged $2-$3 for it?  Did you know that a lot of these private water companies buy out springs from poor villages/cities/countries, and then forbid locals to drink from the clean spring or charge them a crazy amount for the water they can no longer afford?  Do you really want to support such companies?  In comes – the reusable water bottle!
4. Plastic bags – Buy a cloth bag and bring it to the store.  Wow!  Mind is blown.

There.  You’re all set!  Have a really great Plastic Free July!  Please share your successes!

Reusables: straw, cup, bag, bottle.  Simples!