Bha a’ chiad dùbhlan #IucharGunPhlastaig agam an-diugh. Bha mi ag iarraidh greimeag mhilis ach bha a’ chèic uile air a phasgadh ann am plastaig. Gu fortanach lorg mi paidheag bhlasta ann an taigh-fuine!

I had my first #PlasticFreeJuly challenge today. I wanted a sweet snack, but all the cake was wrapped in plastic. Fortunately I found a tasty little pastry in a bakery!

#Gàidhlig

Friends Of The Earth 🌎 have a series of #PlasticFree guides, organised by room, to help with #PlasticFreeJuly efforts
https://friendsoftheearth.uk/plastics/living-without-plastic?

There's even a guide for plastic-free #petcare and another for #gardening

Homemade #Pasta with Garlic Mushrooms for tonight's dinner 😋

#Recipe: https://ko-fi.com/i/IK3K0MSSYL

I'm making my own pasta for #PlasticFreeJuly and was surprised at how quick and easy it actually is to make a single portion. Overall my meal took about the same time, including kneading the pasta dough, as it would have with readymade, dried pasta. The cooking time is less than half that of the dried stuff too so we're also saving gas.

#Dinner #QuickMeals #Homemade

Chamomile #tea made from flowers I freshly picked this afternoon while out on our walk. They had wilted a little by the time we got home!

Foraged teas are another way I try to reduce my plastic usage. I didn't realise until my first #PlasticFreeJuly just how many tea bags contain a plastic 'skeleton', plus the boxes are often shrink wrapped in plastic too.

***** If you're going to pick flowers or leaves though, do make sure you know what you're picking *****

@earthmothering9 I love my collection of Bonne Maman jamjars. They're so useful and I've got the gingham lids in five different colours now 😄

#PlasticFreeJuly

@Kellyshenanigans I sewed rectangles of worn out t-shirts together in three layers with an old teatowel for a top and bottom layers to replace kitchen roll. I now use these for mopping up spills, then throw them in with the laundry to wash and reuse. Little ribbon loops on one corner mean they're just hung up in the kitchen, easy to grab when needed.

Do you follow the #PlasticFreeJuly hashtag? There used to be lots of folks sharing ingenious ideas throughout the month over on the birdsite and I hope it will catch on in the #Fediverse too. Day One today!

#ReduceWaste

Is anyone else doing #PlasticFreeJuly this year?

I'm gearing up by tutting at the amount of single-use plastics that have crept back into our rubbish bag since last year's efforts 😕 Admittedly we're a lot better than we used to be at avoiding the stuff, but can still do more.

I'm looking forward to a month of being inspired by everyone else's solutions 💚

https://youtu.be/ByayHG5CscE

Chemical footprint of a plastic water bottle (via @laurie_garrett on the bird app). One of many reasons to join this year’s #PlasticFreeJuly. I always learn a few workarounds to plastic packaging, though it’s not always easy.

Il #consumo di #plastica è destinato a #raddoppiare entro il 2050
#plasticfreejuly #stopplastica #tfnews #news #italia #cronaca #inquinamento #inquinamentoambientale #inquinamentoplastica #esteri
http://tfnews.it/il-consumo-di-plastica-e-destinato-a-raddoppiare-entro-il-2050/

RT @RandomActsGreen
For #PlasticFreeJuly we’ve put together a list of 26 Plastic Free Products you can use to reduce your single-use plastic consumption! Read it here!

https://raog.ca/26-best-plastic-free-july-products/

Did you know that this symbol shows what kind of plastic an item is made of, not that it can be recycled at the end of its life?

I'll buy things that are made of recycled plastic, especially if it's recovered ocean plastic. All of my new flowerpots bought in the past few years are recycled ocean plastic. (Plants in plastic flowerpots require less water than those in terra cotta, as the water evaporates more slowly.)

It's really important to check with your municipality to see what is recyclable. I see neighbors throwing all kinds of things in the recycling and contaminating all of it! Not buying it in the first place is the best.

#1 (PET) can be turned into new bottles and polyester clothing (but check back next week to talk about how to keep plastic fibers from polyester out of oceans). #2 can be turned into other things as well. Most other types end up in landfills. Avoid all it of as much as possible!

#PlasticFreeJuly

The top petrochemical companies are responsible for 55% of the world's single-use plastic waste. It can make you wonder why bother.

We can't recycle our way out of climate change and environmental disaster, but this article says that the recycling mindset matters. Only about 9% of plastic worldwide and 6% of plastic in the USA is recycled. Choose aluminum or glass, more likely to be recycled than plastic.

Why more glass isn't simply sterilized and refilled, I do not know. That's what we need, more reuse. This article, published before the recent steep rise in oil prices, says that because oil prices (were) so low, it was just cheaper for companies to produce new plastic packaging. But that's more expensive for all of us long-term. Reusing as much as possible, then repurposing and recycling, is what corporations need to do. Individuals need to do our part in diverting products from landfills, but our part is small.

h/t @woozle for the #PlasticFreeJuly topic

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/22/is-recycling-a-waste-heres-the-answer-from-a-plastics-expert.html

One thing I really appreciate about Bonneau's blog is that she doesn't try to tell people in Flint not to use bottled water, people with disabilities not to use plastic straws, or people who take medications to eschew their pill bottles. Personally, I take a supplement that I can find in a glass bottle, so I buy that particular brand, but I also take prescriptions that only come in plastic bottles. You have to take care of your health first. I hope someday we come up with better solutions than plastic for all of those things, but drinking poisoned water or not being able to drink at all because you have problems swallowing without a straw doesn't help anyone.

#PlasticFreeJuly

A blog I really enjoy is Zero Waste Chef. I haven't sewn my own bags as she does; I've bought some and repurposed lots of free bags that I and others got at conferences in my life. I'm not the only one walking around the farmer's market with my berries in a muslin bag with a logo from some trade association an old roommate worked for! In addition to providing you with recipes that will allow you to stop buying bread in plastic bags, if you're so inclined to bake your own loaves, Anne-Marie Bonneau has four top suggestions for reducing plastic. One is bringing your own cloth bags. The other three:

Stop using plastic water bottles (so long as have safe tap water; drink bottled if you must)

Skip the takeaway coffee cups. Find a local café that has ceramic for dine-in and lets you bring your own for takeout.

Skip the straw or bring your own silicone or bamboo (unless you have a disability and need the plastic).

#PlasticFreeJuly

https://zerowastechef.com/2021/06/17/top-4-single-use-plastic-free-july/

We are now through the first week of #PlasticFreeJuly. Instead of buying new reusables and #zerowaste items, this #TryDayFriday remember to rethink, repurpose, and reuse what you have. Buying less can be even better than buying green. Graphic: homovirido

How many plastic shampoo bottles do you use in your life? A plastic-reducing change you can make is switching to shampoo and conditioner bars sold loose. Or at worst, sold in a recyclable or compostable cardboard or paper wrapper. If you're using body wash in a plastic bottle, you can also switch to bar soap (how many of us used it when we were kids?).

Where do you find it? And how about other products that you can buy in bulk? Where can you bring your own bottle to fill up on dish soap? Or for that matter, rice or pasta instead of buying it in a plastic bag?

Call ahead to see if these stores are allowing you to bring your own containers. Covid made us lose a lot of ground. Many smaller stores like the ones on this Litterless list are allowing you to bring your own again. I've noticed that a large grocery chain forces you to use only their plastic bags and containers, and doesn't even have compostable bags like some other stores do.

#PlasticFreeJuly

https://www.litterless.com/wheretoshop

"Just 20 companies are responsible for over half of the 130 million metric tonnes of plastic waste produced globally. Fossil fuel companies are doubling down on single-use plastic production as their other markets are being decarbonised."

"Packaging accounts for 46% of the world's plastic waste."

#PlasticFreeJuly #Plastic #PlasticWaste #FossilFuels #Singleuse #Singleuseplastic

https://phys.org/news/2022-07-recycling-ambulance-bottom-cliff.html

Here's a website with 31 ideas for going plastic-free for #PlasticFreeJuly!

One of the suggestions is if you have a capsule coffee machine (like a Keurig or Nespresso machine), getting a reusable capsule. You can grind your own coffee and put it inside.

This isn't the only way to go plastic-free for your coffee, though. You can get a glass or stainless steel French press with no single-use plastic parts. Stovetop espresso is another option where you'll only need to occasionally replace a silicone gasket. Parts are metal with also just a Bakelite handle.

You can buy bulk coffee beans and avoid a plastic pouch.

If you drink tea, paper tea bags are compostable. Fancy sachets typically contain plastic and must go in the trash (though if you already have some, you can cut them open and compost the tea inside). Loose leaf tea is the least waste if you can get it in a paper (recyclable/compostable) bag!

https://www.yogiapproved.com/plastic-free-july-challenge/

I'd also like to point out some unintended consequences on #PlasticFreeJuly. This may be the case in other stores as well, but Target is the only place I've noticed it, because it's the only place I do in-store or curbside pickup. The reason I do in-store or curbside pickup is because Target gives different discounts sometimes if you shop in-store yourself, if you shop online and do pickup at customer service or have items brought to your car, or if you have items shipped to you. If you're shopping in a plastic bag-free jurisdiction, Target will bring the items to you in polyester bags which are exempt from the ban. These are more resource-intensive to make. Target tells you to just use them again when you shop, but you can't return them to the store. How many of these do you need? I've seen neighbors using them for trash bags. It might meet the letter of local laws, but is actually more single-use plastic. Stores need to find better solutions and stop foisting plastic on shoppers.

What's the status of plastic bags where you live? Do stores give them out with your purchase or are they prohibited?

It's frustrating right now to live in a country where things like reproductive rights change based on which state you live in and a life-or-death issue for women living, say, in Central Texas, many hours from the state line. But if you want to take notice of plastic bag use, it's useful to live in small, east coast states where plastic bags are banned in one state (or city or county) but handed out when you cross into the next. I bring my own bags no matter where I shop (except I'll take paper ones in Trader Joe's for collecting my recycling). I notice other people remember them in the stores now where you have to buy a reusable one, even though it's just 5 or 10 cents. It adds up! In the jurisdiction where plastic bags are free, few people bring their own.

This chart was updated in October 2021.

#PlasticFreeJuly

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59bd5150e45a7caf6bee56f8/t/6174410827ee16549b5f7e35/1635008776513/PBL+October+2021+Bag+Laws+%281%29.pdf