PLASTIC FREE: WHY

I've started this because I felt whimsical one day.

About a month ago I came across a link to www.plasticfreejuly.org - an Australian incentive to raise awareness about the plastic waste problem. I've always been a plastic bag refuser, but one look at this website had me accepting the challenge instantly.

Here were my initial reasons:

• It's estimated that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the sea than fish. According to a report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, “at least 8m tonnes of plastics leak into the ocean – which is equivalent to dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute." Yuck.

• This can be fatal for marine life in two ways: nets, ropes, bags, etc. can entangle and strangle, whilst small objects, pellets, micro beads, etc. can be ingested.

• Plastic ain't biodegradable. It will literally stay around for 1000 years.

• Only a small percentage of plastic is recycled. And if it is, it's often down-cycled. So, for example, you can't easily turn an old plastic bottle into a new one.

• Whether it's sitting in landfill or sitting in your fridge, plastic can potentially leak out harmful chemicals into the soil or our food.