Health and Wellbeing

Reduce your Plastic use this July

City of Perth29 Jun '223 min read

Perth City Farm

This month it’s Plastic Free July – which encourages all of us to reduce our use of plastics to support a cleaner and beautiful City of Perth. As WA begins its state-wide ban on the supply of certain single-use plastic items, here’s a few easy ways you can cut down on plastic:

1) Ditch the plastic bag

Be prepared! Keep a few reusable bags in your car, at work and in your handbag (there’s even purse-sized bags for emergencies!) Or, if you’re planning a bigger shop – why not take a few cardboard boxes? You’ll be surprised how much you’ll be able to fit, and as a bonus, you’ll get a great arm workout!

2) Say goodbye to the plastic drink bottle and get creative

With so many refillable water bottles in the market these days, there’s no need to buy single-use plastic water bottles. Not keen to buy a new bottle? That’s ok! Why not rescue a glass bottle (or jar) from your recycling bin? Using a refillable water bottle will save you money and the environment.

If you ever forget to bring your water bottle, don’t panic. You can find a fountain around our beautiful city, or purchase a glass bottle of water and reuse it.

Reusable Shopping Bags

3) Keep your coffee green

Australians love a good flat white and they taste just as good in a reusable coffee cup. Single-use coffee cups are not recyclable in most locations and even ‘compostable’ cups are rarely composted correctly. You can easily bring along your own reusable cup to your favourite cafe in the Perth CBD. Remember to keep it in your bag, on your desk or in your car. There’s no need to buy anything fancy - you can even bring a mug from home!

4) Keep filling up!

Ever thought of how many plastic shampoo and body wash bottles you go through in a year? It’s a lot! Why not go old school and use a bar of soap - there’s also amazing brands offering shampoo, conditioner and even dishwashing soap bars to help you cut back on plastic.

Or if bars aren’t for you - you can refill your bottles to limit your plastic. At Busy Bee Pharmacy in Northbridge, you can now refill shampoo, hand-wash, castile soap and dishwashing liquid into your own containers.

Plastic Free Loose Produce

5) Bulk up

Grocery shopping can get tricky when you’re trying to cut back on plastic, as everything from veggies to bread can be wrapped in plastic. You can easily limit plastic packaging by visiting your local bulk food store, such as Kakulas Brothers. They offer paper packaging, or you can bring your own jars to fill up with dry goods.
Farmer’s markets are also a great way to get fresh produce without the plastic. Have you checked out Perth City Farm’s Saturday morning markets yet?