Small Changes Can Make A Big Impact

Isn’t it shocking that the effort necessary to extract oil from the ground, ship it to a refinery, turn it into plastic, shape it appropriately, truck it to a store, buy it, bring it home and throw it away is considered less effort than what it takes to just wash it when you are done with it.

This accepted process of production and consumption is frustrating because there are many points where waste, and subsequent pollution, is created. However, waste isn’t waste until we waste it.

We believe we can end plastic pollution by changes in production and consumption habits that are supported by the initiatives of governments and local communities. But government initiatives need local community support, which starts with conscious individuals like you.

Plastic Free July is a month-long opportunity for caring individuals around the world to collectively prove that we can stop the cycle of waste.

No effort is too small when it is put towards something good. What is good for you, is good for others. Do it for yourself, do it for your family, do it for your community, do it for the planet – it does not matter who you do it for, just do something good.

  1. Think Reusable, Not Disposable. Use reusable bags, bottles, containers, utensils… and Masks!
  2. Replace plastic items with glass or steel.
  3. Buy less and share more
  4. Do not throw your contact lenses in the sink or the toilet. Throw them in the trash bin. Contact lenses contribute to the microplastic pollution when disposed in the sink or toilet.
  5. Do not flush your tampons down the toilet. Tampons are adding microplastics to waste water that either seep into the ground or dumped into our waterways and ocean. 
  6. Do not flush your dental floss down the toilet. Replace your dental floss. Not only is dental floss made of plastic but it also has PFAS chemicals that are toxic to humans and the environment.
  7. Take a bag with you on your next walk and pick up litter.
  8. Enjoy a cup of loose leaf tea. Almost all tea bags are heat sealed with polyethylene, not only does this not compost but leaches into your tea.
  9. Cut up an apple and think of all the parts involved in the making of that apple from the insects to worms to soil to water to the tree to sunlight. It is amazing that the core of one apple, what humans consider “waste,” can create more apples.
  10. Share with us how you repurposed an item rather than throwing it away.

Bamboo cutlery setAt Plastic Oceans International, we represent a collective of strong individuals making positive changes both big and small. We are grateful for all your positive actions. Together we are engaging and motivating local communities to influence policies and habits needed for large-scale impact. Let’s use Plastic Free July as a means to explore how we, as individuals, can make small changes to our behavior that can have a big impact on reducing plastic pollution.

PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION TO SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS TO END PLASTIC POLLUTION