The Origins of Plastic Free July

Every year, over 100 million people participate in Plastic Free July in over 190 countries worldwide. 

But how did this begin? 

It all started when Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, the founder and current Executive Director of the Plastic Free Foundation, visited a recycling facility in Western Australia and witnessed the amount of waste produced. She was overwhelmed by the amount of plastic that existed. 

This led her to challenge herself to go plastic free the following month. She rallied 40 individuals from her community in Western Australia, including friends, family and local government and unknowingly created a formal challenge that would soon become a global movement. 

This movement has led to impactful changes such as reducing 2.1 billion tonnes of waste and recycling and reducing global demand for bottled water, fruit and vegetable packaging and plastic straws. However, with plastic production estimated to quadruple by 2050, this is simply not enough. We can continue to do better! 

For that reason, NoSUP Canada has started a petition to strengthen regulatory definitions around the ban on single-use plastics in Canada. Consider signing Petition E-4029 today to apply pressure to the Canadian government further to implement a meaningful action which includes: 

1. Strengthening regulatory definitions to include more harmful single-use plastic items and close loopholes that currently allow plastic items to be replaced with more durable problematic plastic; 
2. Remove the exemption that allows banned products to continue to be manufactured and exported; 
3. Revise the exception of the retail sale on single-use plastic straws to people needing them for medical purposes can request them; 
4. Implement a clear and staged action plan to eliminate single-plastics by 2030; and 
5. Bring these proposed regulations into force six months after they are published. 

Contribute to change this Plastic Free July and beyond! 

Tempus. (June 2021). Tempus News – a positive change: Rebecca Prince-Ruiz writes about the power of Plastic Free July. tempus. Retrieved July 2022, from https://tempusmagazine.co.uk/news/a-positive-change-rebecca-prince-ruiz-writes-about-the-power-of-plastic-free-july  

Prince-Ruiz, R. (2021, November 19). July is plastic free month! Medium. Retrieved July 18, 2022, from https://blog.streamlabs.com/july-is-plastic-free-month-5e43fd516ae5 

About. Plastic Free July. (2022, July 8). Retrieved July 18, 2022, from https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/about-us/