Plastic Free July in the Highlands
A whooping 88% of people in the Highlands are concerned with the amount of packaging generated by things we buy (Highland Community Waste Partnership).
July marks a time of opportunity in Highland to invest in reducing plastic consumption, as we celebrate Plastic Free July and utilise a new campaign from the Highland Community Waste Partnership.
What is Plastic Free July?
The Plastic Free July Campaign is a global movement to reduce plastic pollution - choose to refuse single-use plastic and instead utilise reusable alternatives. This year’s Plastic Free July campaign focuses on small changes each of us can make to reduce plastic waste under the slogan “Small steps, big difference”.
Over the last 5 years, by calling for people to refuse single-use plastics, the campaign has avoided 10 billion kgs of household waste as people make more sustainable choices. This is turn is creating cleaner streets & healthier oceans for our societies.
The Top 3 culprits that Plastic Free July campaigners have recognised are plastic drink bottles, food wrap & cups. They have easy substitutions:
Refilling reusable water bottles from the tap
Bringing a reusable cup or sitting and enjoy a real cup
Switching from plastic wrap to reusable containers or wax wraps
Take the Plastics Quiz to learn what changes you can make, and then make your pledge, here.
How can we reduce our plastic waste in the Highlands?
The Highland Community Waste Partnership has launched a free returnable packaging pilot businesses in the Highlands.
The scheme will build on their previous Highland Cup Movement campaign which saved more than 1,000 single-use cups from landfill. Utilising the same partnership with German reusable packaging system Vytal, the scheme gives businesses the chance to trial a returnable food & drinks packaging system for free.
The scheme runs off a QR-code based app, which allows customers to choose reusable packaging at the point of sale, that can then be returned to any participating business.
From cups, to bowls, tubs and even pizza boxes, pilot participants will receive a pool of packaging of their choosing, as well as support with setting up and running the scheme. This will include staff training and campaign materials, to help ensure customers are engaged to use the scheme and choose to reuse.
The pilot scheme is now open and will run until December 2024. This pilot is part of the HCWP’s Conscious Consumption campaign, which features a number of initiatives designed to help businesses reduce food and packaging waste. Any businesses interested in getting involved can sign up here.
