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Plastic Free July & the Circular Economy

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What do sea turtles, humans and our soil have in common? This month they’re all happy to celebrate Plastic Free July! A global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution – so we can have cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities.

Plastics are a versatile material, however, the way they are currently used is incredibly wasteful. A majority of plastic products are designed to be used once and thrown away via the ‘take-make-waste’ linear economic model a majority of our economic system functions by.

In the last 50-years plastics use has increased twentyfold. Below you can see the linear plastic system as demonstrated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

REthinking plastics via a circular economy framework is one way in which we can help reduce plastics pollution and waste. There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to plastics.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation suggests the entire plastics system needs to be redesigned, essentially, we must rethink the way we make, use and reuse plastics.

Above is the circular economy vision for plastics from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

So, while we are building and growing the circular economy for plastic materials how do we manage plastic in our current lives?

Here’s 3 ways we can manage and reduce plastics in our lives.

REDUCE

Eliminate unnecessary plastics from your life. One easy way to do this is to assess your current plastics use and identify anything you can go without. Remember, the goal is not perfection, zero waste is a wonderful concept or ultimate utopia, however, progress beats perfection. Even eliminating one or two plastic items from your daily use will have a significant impact over time.

REPLACE

After you have assessed what items you can eliminate, think about which ones you can replace with more eco-friendly materials. There are many plastic items in our everyday life that we can easily switch out for the same product made with different materials. Here is a great list of eco-friendly alternatives for the home.

We understand that every household has a different budget so consider which alternatives will give you the best value for your money and fit with household budget. Living an eco-friendly life should not be a privilege, at WBGS we believe it should be accessible to every person.

Reuse

Start replacing single-use and plastic items with ones you can reuse!

You can also think about how current plastic material in your home can be repurposed or reused in other ways. Get creative and try some DIY hacks from Pinterest. One of the most brilliant examples of reuse of plastics we’ve seen is the trend of repurposing Ikea Frakta bags online. Maybe the examples below aren’t the most practical, but the point is, your imagination is the only limitation in how you reuse your plastic items.

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