Download of my Plastic Free July 2018

Hello peers!

Yes, I realize this is super late- but better than never!

This year, I participated in Plastic Free July with about a dozen people from my former office. I made a pledge to do my best to reduce the amount of single-use plastics I used throughout the entire month.

July snuck up on me, but I made a few immediate changes:

Get a bigger purse- It may feel like you're saving space to have a compact bag where nothing else fits, but having a larger purse allowed me to refuse a plastic bag and place things directly in my handbag like: fruit, convenience store groceries, etc.
Carry a reusable tote-You'd be surprised how many times people use a plastic bag because they forgot their bags at home. Best way to avoid that? Carry one in your now larger purse, leave a couple in the car, an one in your work desk- voila! You've always remembered now!
Carry a reusable straw- I am very excited about my Final Straw (image below) that I ordered- but they won't be fabricated until November- so I grabbed a straw out of one of my reusable tumblers and have been carrying that around.

Some of my observations:

You need to note that you want no straw or no bag right when you start interacting with someone, or they will bring you one, assuming.
If you bring your own dish/plate/cup to restaurants/cafes, less people stare than you might think!

Some of my challenges:

Airports (work travel)
Coffee cup lids
Snacks (packaging!)

What small changes could you make to make a big difference?

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