Plastic Free July

The City of Armadale is encouraging residents to take part in Plastic Free July and reduce the amount of plastic going into landfill.

Plastic Free July aims to raise awareness of the amount of single-use disposable plastic in our lives and challenges people to do something about it. Australians send one million tonnes of plastic waste to landfill each year.

Apart from the small amount of plastic which has been incinerated, every piece of plastic which was ever produced still exists on earth somewhere.

“We want our residents to take up the challenge and look at different ways to reduce their contribution to landfill,” said Armadale Mayor Henry Zelones OAM JP.

“You can try it for a day, a week or the whole month or even longer. We want to slowly enact change to the plastic problem and help people reduce their footprint, regardless of how big or small that may be.

“Attempt to refuse single-use plastic. Remember it's not going to be easy but it will open your eyes to how many products use plastic and the various ways we substitute plastic for something more sustainable.

For example you can line your bin with newspapers instead of using a plastic bag, store pantry items in glass or stainless steel containers or give a voucher, donation or make your own gifts which aren’t wrapped in plastic packaging. Simple changes can have long lasting effects,” he said.

For information and handy tips on how to refuse single-use plastic visit www.plasticfreejuly.org. You can also find tips on cutting household waste on www.switchyourthinking.com.