Plastic Free July

How to go plastic free

Going plastic free can feel like a big and expensive journey. Even small changes can help make a difference. Focus on simple swap and substitutes and any ideas you pick up along the way. And when you have to use plastic, always reuse or repurpose.    

Council tips and tricks

• Shop at bulk food stores such as Alfalfa House Community Food Co-op in Newtown, Mad Wholefoods in Summer Hill, Village Wholefoods in Marrickville, Naked Foods in Newtown, The Source in Balmain and The Well Store in Rozelle sells bulk cleaning products.
• Avoid soft drink bottles by making your own with a soda maker/carbonator.
• Line your rubbish bin without a plastic bag. You can use paper or leftover cardboard to line your bin. Any food leftovers can be composted or placed into a sealed container and kept in the fridge until bin day. 
• Consider repurposing old utensils for a travel cutlery kit (using existing cutlery in a small cloth bag instead of purchasing new reusable cutlery).
• Instead of plastic sponges or paper towels wrapped in plastic, try a Swedish dish cloth for a low cost, reusable option. 

Your tips and tricks

• Anna from Leichhardt                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          "We have tried to eliminate plastic packaging in a lot of our cleaning products. We use soap nuts for our clothes washing, shampoo and conditioner bars and make our own dishwasher tablets and multipurpose cleaning spray."
• Jess from Balmain                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  "I bought my kids a really good quality metal lunchbox each for school. We don't have to replace them each year as they can just continue to use them."
• Sophia from Summer Hill                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    "Reusable nappies! They're hard work but we've saved many nappies from landfill!"

Workshops

Inner West Council's Green Living Centre has planned the following workshops in July:

Find out more

Visit the official Plastic Free July website - Will you be part of Plastic Free July by choosing to refuse single-use plastics?

The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment recently published the New South Wales Plastics Action Plan