Te Ipukarea Society: Plastic Free July – small changes can make a big difference

This past July, Te Ipukarea Society published a series of posts on how to minimise the use of single-use plastics in our daily lives.

The Plastic Free July campaign aims to raise awareness of the harmful effects of plastic on the environment and personal health. The campaign also helps encourage people to consider practicing some simple tips and tricks during July to reduce or completely eliminate their use of plastic.

The first Plastic Free July was launched in 2011 by Rebecca Prince-Ruiz and a few people from the local government of Western Australia. It is amazing that a small Australian movement has now gone global, with millions of participants from different countries.

Plastic Free July is also part of the non-profit Plastic Free Foundation Ltd. They believe that “small changes add up to make a big difference”. This is an admirable view because some people may think that we as individuals cannot make much of an impact. This global movement now proves that this is not the case. Plastic Free Foundation Ltd was also founded by Rebecca Prince Ruiz in 2017.

We kick off our series with an interesting suggestion from New Zealand volunteer Rachel Selwyn on how to transform eco-friendly dishwashing liquid containers into practical fanny packs for carrying rat bait used in rat eradication efforts at Takitumu Reserve.

When you visit your favorite coffee shop, a classic reminder is to bring your reusable coffee cup, which not only looks stylish but also helps significantly reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.

Buying in bulk is also a cost-effective tip. If you notice that you use up items in your home faster, consider buying those items in bulk (if possible). For example, instead of buying small packages of coffee, buy larger packages. The same goes for items like chips, butter, or margarine. As an added bonus, larger bulk containers can be repurposed as food storage containers, which can prove to be quite expensive these days.

When you’re out looking for takeaways, consider bringing a makeshift cutlery kit to use at food stalls. This can be done by taking some cutlery from your own drawer, folding it nicely in a tea towel, and securing it with a string or hair tie. This will reduce disposable waste. You can also bring your own reusable take-home containers.

Now that we are well into August, we hope these tips for reusing and refusing plastic continue to be practiced in our daily lives. Whatever small change you start with, just remember that “small changes can make a big difference”.