by Mary Nightingale, Assistant Educator
Plastic Free July is a worldwide initiative that invites anyone and everyone to take on the challenge of reducing plastic waste. The challenge brings together a large community of committed individuals who uplift one another along their low waste journey. This community goes beyond the “three r’s” of reduce, reuse and recycle, encouraging further strategies such as refuse, repair and repurpose.
At the Centre we demonstrate the harm of plastic in the ocean in a number of ways. Displayed on our walls we have two community-made art pieces where plastic has been repurposed to raise awareness of its effect on the Salish Sea. One of these pieces is by Braefoot Elementary’s Grade 5’s who were inspired to pick up garbage after a trip with Eagle Wing Tours. The other is by a former volunteer who researched the effects of plastic on blue whales. Alongside her piece she describes how toxins can be passed down from mother to calf and how microplastics make their way into the whale diet. A common example of plastic pollution we discuss here at the Centre is with sea turtles who rely on jellies as a food source. When suspended in the water, jellies and plastic bags look nearly identical, resulting in this creature ingesting plastics. With only these few demonstrations, it is not hard to see why plastic pollution is such a serious topic.
In honour of Plastic Free July, I alongside other Learning Team members, took on an impromptu beach clean-up at Sidney’s Glass Beach. We wandered along picking up bottles, food containers and a little abandoned dinosaur toy, which seemed to be advocating for this initiative. In just 30 minutes our small team filled 2.5 buckets; 50% of the trash collected was single-use plastic. We separated and washed anything that could be recycled. This was an important step as it is estimated that only 9% of plastic is recycled, with the remaining 91% ending up in landfills or the environment.
While we were out, an interesting side-effect happened — a family on the beach joined in, picking up garbage alongside us! The kids were excited to share stories about their other clean ups and it started interesting conversations about Plastic Free July, what garbage we had already found on the beach and what we do at the Centre. They had as much of an appreciation for our coastline as we do and were eager to share their own experience of protecting it. Through these conversations I could easily see how this challenge brings people together.
After completing this beach clean-up we felt accomplished, but began talking about our next steps. How can we prevent plastic waste in the first place? The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly brought challenges for those already working to reduce waste with restrictions against reusable plastic alternatives (BYO coffee mug!) and single-use masks showing up everywhere we look. Despite this, our team has still found a variety of ways to continue living with less waste:
At Home:
Swapping bottled shampoo, body wash and dish soap for soap bars
Making household cleaners using simple ingredients from the kitchen; find recipes at CRD
When Eating:
Meal planning around ingredients with zero packaging
Making veggie dips, bread and ice cream from scratch to avoid plastic packaging
Out and About:
Declining plastic utensils with takeout
Using mesh bags, paper mushroom bags or no bags when buying loose veggies
Bringing reusable containers for leftovers when eating at a restaurant
Are you participating in Plastic Free July?
We challenge you to take on one of these tips for living with less waste. You don’t have to be completely plastic free but we encourage you to take one more step in reducing your impact!