Plastic-Free July

Whether it’s a plastic cup from your local coffee shop, a plastic bag from the market, or the packaging of personal hygiene products, we all encounter plastic daily. While plastic goods provide convenience, it presents dangers to animals, natural resources, and the climate.

Plastic can take anywhere from 20-500 years to decompose entirely into the ground. Besides plastic’s long decomposition time, it often ends up in water sources or natural ecosystems. According to National Geographic, every year eight million tons of plastic waste escapes into the ocean.

For all of the reasons listed above, we challenge you to participate in Plastic Free July, a global movement that challenges individuals to refuse single-use plastics. While eliminating plastic from your life may seem hard, it is the small changes to your lifestyle that create a large difference.

Try making your coffee at home and using beans from a local social enterprise coffee shop and a travel mug rather than purchasing a coffee from Starbucks or try visiting a local farmers market with your own reusable tote bags so you can get your as plastic-free as possible. The steps towards creating an eco-friendly lifestyle start with small changes and that’s how we want you to approach Plastic Free July.

We want to feature some social enterprises and businesses that are taking a stance against plastic use and working towards creating a healthier planet. Showing these businesses support is an effective way to make a difference.

Zero Waste Event Productions works with festival and event planners to ensure that the grounds are kept clean. The social enterprise can be a part of the event process from planning to clean-up. Services include sorting trash, grounds cleanup, education/awareness, and more. With in-person events slowly returning, businesses like Zero Waste Event Productions can ensure that you are minimizing potential environmental harms.

The Compost Exchange does not work directly with plastic, because plastic is not compostable, but helps to create a cleaner planet through its composting program. The Compost Exchange’s largest program is the Curbside Composting which allows people to place their composting bucket outside their house and it will be picked up. In 2020, the enterprise collected and transformed 560,000 pounds of food scraps.

Storehouse Tea makes delicious teas like black tea, green tea, herbal, and many more. As a social enterprise, it is dedicated to creating its products in a sustainable way that does not harm the earth’s resources. Besides the sustainability mission, Storehouse Tea is also dedicated to giving employees a positive and meaningful experience.

Reuse Revolution is a zero-waste shop that aims to make sustainable living accessible to all individuals. From this social enterprise, you can buy items that replace plastic such as cloth produce bags, biodegradable toothbrushes, and much more. You can buy from Reuse Revolution online or at the location at the Bridge Park North Market.