If you’ve already got your reuseable coffee cup, bottle and lunch box sorted, then prepare to step it up a notch because the world’s first plastic-free day has been announced.
Occurring on 5th June, the push is being organised by international campaign group A Plastic Planet. The aim is simple: to encourage 250 million people over the globe to “avoid plastic-packaged food and drink products for 24 hours.”
To spread the word, campaigners are asking people to get involved by sharing photos of plastic-packaged items that they’re going to go without on social media, using #PassOnPlastic.
Planned to coincide with World Environment Day, the idea is to pressure international companies into decreasing the volume of plastic that they use.
On the movement, A Plastic Planet co-founder Sian Sutherland said: “One Plastic Free Day will touch the lives of millions of people around the world.”
“Across every continent, people are waking up to the fact that plastic has absolutely no place in food and drink. Where is the logic in wrapping something as fleeting as food in something as indestructible as plastic?”
Calling our plastic addiction ”this generation’s smoking”, Sutherland continued: “For years, we were blissfully unaware of the terrible damage done by throwaway packaging to our oceans, our soil and the health of future generations. Now we know the truth.”
“One Plastic Free Day is all about uniting the world to turn off the plastic tap. It’s just one day to think twice before reaching for that plastic-wrapped food and drink product. None of us are plastic saints; just do what you can.”
Bye Bye Plastic Bags Founder Melati Wijsen said: “The beauty of One Plastic Free Day is that it is inspiring millions of young people... It’s a wonderful action that gets everyone thinking, slowly changing and suddenly it isn’t just one day but everyday in which your lifestyle becomes more plastic-free. I’ve seen what plastic waste has done to my home in Bali and I want to make sure that the world unites so that we stop plastic ruining our beautiful Earth.”