Plastic Free July: Eco Champions

As you may already know from our first post of the month, it is currently Plastic Free July. This is celebrated every July, and was first launched by The Plastic Free Foundation in 2011 to encourage the reduction of plastic waste and single-use plastic.

Since we’re now just over half way through the month of July, we thought it would be a great idea to give you further inspiration and encouragement on how you can reduce your plastic waste. Following on from our first post, we’re back with some inspiring eco champions recommended by Didi at Sustainable Deeds for our sustainability series ♻️

So, if you’re looking for more inspiration around reducing your plastic use and what you can do to help on a larger scale then Didi recommends looking into the work of the following people 💪

1. Bea Johnson  

Bea set about simplifying her family’s life over a decade ago. Plastic waste reduction is just one of the areas that Bea has focused on, but she has tackled all aspects of waste and in the process has come up with hundreds of tips and tricks to live a life with less stuff, but oh so much more goodness. Her book is still a go-to resource for me regularly.

2. Action Nan  

Pat Smith, also known as Action Nan is by far one of the most inspirational people I have ever met! An avid beach cleaner, Pat is motivated by protecting the natural world for her grandchildren to enjoy as she was able to. Founder of an eco holiday destination, Bosinver, and also the Final Straw campaign, there seems to be no end to Action Nan’s dedication to creating positive change.

3. Beach Guardian  

Father and daughter duo, Rob and Emily have turned their passion for the environment into an educational community organisation called Beach Guardian. Together they beach clean and document their finds, run environmental workshops, and campaign in many clever ways to get companies and our government to get smarter about waste and marine pollution in particular.

There are many more people doing awesome things to combat plastic pollution amongst countless other environmental issues, and we can all follow their lead in whichever way is achievable for us. The most important thing to do is to commit to life-long learning and trying to do your best with the knowledge that you have.

Plastic Free July is not about being perfect, but it is about having a go and making a conscious effort to reduce the number of plastics that you use. So, if you haven’t already started are you up for joining the challenge this July? Go for it, you can do it! If you’ve already started then keep going because although it may not seem like it, you are making a difference, one saved piece of plastic at a time! We all have the power to make a change and reduce our plastic waste!

Those are more of Didi’s top plastic reduction tips, but please head to the Plastic Free July site for more ideas, information and inspiration on how you can get involved with this global campaign, reduce your plastic usage and create a positive change for our planet, not just this month but every month 🌍

More from Didi:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Header image by Miriam Espacio on Unsplash