This month we are going plastic free!
Plastic Free July is a call to everyone to join us in saying “No, thank you!” to single-use plastic shopping bags, takeaway cups, drinking straws and other items that are contributing to the pollution crisis currently plaguing our oceans.
Plastic Free July first began in Australia in 2011. In 2017, the campaign’s founder Rebecca Prince-Ruiz and a group of people from her local government formed a non-profit organisation called The Plastic Free Foundation, which is the official organisation that runs Plastic Free July. In 2018, a total of 120-million people participated – and it was reported that 90 percent of those participants made permanent habit changes beyond July.
So challenge yourself, your friends and your family to go plastic-free or at least seriously cut down on plastic use for this month. When taking up the challenge, you don’t have to go full-blown plastic-free; any effort you can commit to, you should do – even if it’s just one day, one week, one month or from now onwards. Make the commitment and you’ll start to see how many areas of life you can make a difference.
Here are some easy tips on how to turn the tide on plastic pollution
- Avoid using cling wrap, ziplock bags and other unrecyclable plastics.
- If you do use plastic, make sure it can be recycled. Then recycle it.
- Set up a recycling system at home, teach your family to follow it and place it in your bin in a clear bag for informal recyclers.
- Avoid plastic shopping bags – remember to always carry reusable bags to the store.
- Ditch the plastic straws – if you really need to use a straw there are plenty of cool reusable straws on the market, such as metal or bio-materials.
- Find plastic-free alternatives when buying your fruits and vegetables. Buy reusable cloth bags to put your fresh veggies into or shop from a farmers market and take your own box.
- Cling wrap is a no-no. There are plenty of alternatives.
- Buy a funky water bottle and make sure you fill it up and carry it with you at all times so that you avoid buying bottled water!
- Do you live near the ocean? Why not organise a beach clean-up with your local community.
- Having a picnic or going camping? Get a set of reusable cutlery so you never have to use disposable plastic ones again.
- If you do happen to accumulate non-recyclable plastic, start Eco-Bricking. You’ll be amazed how much you can get into one bottle and all manner of plastics, from old toothbrushes and earbuds, to food bags and wrappers, to polystyrene, can be compacted to fill these up.
- Are you a coffee addict? Buy a funky reusable coffee mug so that you avoid using single-use coffee cups.
- Take your own containers to the store when you go to the butcher or any of the plastic-free grocery stores listed below.
- Take your own containers to restaurants for possible leftovers. Polystyrene is awful stuff!
Keen to shop at stores that support the plastic-free wave? Check these out.
Shop Zero Woodstock
Shop Zero does not brand itself simply as a grocery store, but also as a sustainable lifestyle support centre. From waste-free dry produce to a beautiful range of reusable coffee cups, there is something here for everyone – and likely also a workshop to help you use your newfound sustainability passion! Shop Zero uses their space for workshops and education as often as possible, helping connect people who want to live more sustainably. Their desire to educate is reflected in their product choices, for example, many people don’t know that plastic is used to make tea bags, so their offerings of loose-leaf tea are a great conversation starter. Even their online orders are shipped with a conscience, packed in reused boxes and sealed with paper tape. We think Shop Zero is the perfect stop for anyone beginning their plastic-free journey, seeking advice and looking at what options are available. It is also a great place to find sustainable gifts such as hand-carved toys, organic beard grooming kits and beeswax sandwich wraps.
Click on the link to check them out! shopzero.co.za/
Nude Foods
Nude Foods, on Cape Town’s Constitution Street, prides itself on being the first plastic-free grocery store in Cape Town. Even without this impressive title under its belt, the variety of produce on offer is worthy of awe. With a wide range of goods, from fresh veggies and breads, to one of the widest varieties of dry produce we’ve seen, Nude Foods is a great destination for anyone wanting good quality foodstuffs – just bring along your own containers. There is even a machine that will crunch up fresh peanut butter for you! And there’s more! Nude Foods has a large variety of cleaning products – from bulk, environmentally friendly detergents that you can dispense into your own container, to a wide selection of body washes and soaps – amazing right? Tip: pack a box full of different sized jars and reusable containers for your shopping trip and leave plastic-free!
View their website now: nudefoods.co
Low Impact Living – Wild & Waste-Free Store
Low Impact Living combines a packaging-free grocery store with a delicious waste-free café. This mission is to inspire lasting change – education is at the core of their business model. The LIL shop space is regularly used for talks, workshops and groups that ignite and nurture the positive changes they hope to inspire. Some of the interesting workshops you can attend at Low Impact Living include an eco-housekeeping workshop for domestic workers, holistic nanny training, DIY body products for women and detoxing your home. Whether you are looking for an environmentally friendly smoothie on your next trip across the Cape Peninsula or want to check out a huge range of goods, from artisanal hemp aprons to up-cycled homeware, Low Impact Living has a bit of something for everyone.
Check out their Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/lowimpactlivingshop/
Faithful to Nature
Faithful to Nature is an online store based in Muizenberg Cape Town, which offers a wide range of environmentally friendly products in categories from food and beauty to home decor. They are notable for being the first online store in the world to allow the filtering of their products by a plastic-free category, making environmentally responsible shopping an easy task for you. Enjoyed Faithful to Nature’s selection of plastic-free alternatives to hard-to-find items, such as toothpaste, sunscreen and yoga mats. Take a look the next time you need to buy a gift for an eco-conscious friend.
Join in on the fun now!
Captain Fanplastic and the V&A Waterfront join forces to bring you the Plastic Free July campaign called the #Captains5RChallenge. Discover how you can Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle plastic waste so it does not end up in the ocean. If you complete all five challenges not only will you receive an ebook of The Legend of Captain Fanplastic but you can also stand a chance to WIN the following:
- Two R2500 V&A Waterfront Shopping Vouchers
- A Marine Online Course gifted by the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation
- Accessories (repurposed) from Sealand Gear & PETCO
To continue raising environmental literacy, Pick n Pay People ‘n Planet with Pick n Pay School Club distribute 100 printed copies of the Captain’s book to learners who don’t have internet access. Together this Plastic Free July, we can do something every day to reduce the tide of pollution that is choking our marine world.
There is a crisis of plastic waste in our oceans and you can help stem the tide by pledging to the #Captains5RChallenge now. Share the campaign with your friends and do the weekly challenges & stand to WIN. Sign up now.
After you sign up you will receive the #Captains5RChallenge activity sheet with weekly challenges introduced every Friday as well on Captain Fanplastic’s Instagram and Facebook accounts. Complete a challenge by posting it on your social media channel and tagging Captain Fanplastic (Instagram = @captain_fanplastic | Facebook = @captainfanplastic).
New Earth Projects
New Earth Projects is a funky fresh waste management and collection service provider founded by a young man named Wade Kleinhans in 2016, they offers businesses and households alike an opportunity to help save the planet. They collect materials such as hard plastics (such as Coke bottles, ice-cream tubs, 5L bottles), tins or cans, glass, cardboard, paper and newspaper for the purpose of up-cycling for 3D printing into childhood development tools for various education centers in Cape Town.
The following fees and collection dates apply:
Woodstock – Per organisation: flat fee of R500 per month
Per households: fee of R100 once off or alternatively R100 per month
(Collections on Mondays)
Sybrand Park: R40 fee per month (Collections on Mondays)
Rondebosch East: R40 fee per month (Collection on Tuesdays)
Kenwyn and Fairways: R40 fee per month (Collection on Wednesdays)
Lansdowne and Crawford: R40 fee per month (Collection on Thursdays)
Claremont and Kenilworth: R40 fee per month (Collection on Fridays)
If you are interested, kindly contact Wade on 072 193 8597.
Email: newearthprojects111@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/projectsnewearth
Instagram: @newearthprojects_
