The UK has a serious plastic problem and consumers don’t want to be part of it anymore.

In a YouGov survey of people responsible for grocery shopping, 57% said they didn’t mind paying more for plastic-free products.

24% disagreed.

The last couple of years have really highlighted the inequalities people in our country face; child poverty, homelessness, systemic racism are just a few examples.

There is no doubt that a plastic-free, sustainable lifestyle is a privilege.

It is so important we ensure this movement is inclusive and judgement-free.

Coming up

1. Why do we need to stop plastic at a system level?

2. Big oil

3. A time-saving tip

4. Four parliament petitions to sign this Plastic Free July

5. Three campaigns to support in 2021

6. Two actions you can take to make a difference

1. Why do we need to stop plastic at a system level?

Making small changes to transition to a plastic-free home is great if you’re able, it can reduce eco-anxiety and even save you money.

However, we also need new policies and government support to create systematic change on a wider scale.

Think of it like this:

You stop buying plastic bottles. Drinks, shampoo… you ditch the lot.

Yet manufacturers produce even more plastic.

In 2016, 485 billion PET bottles were produced. It is predicted that 583.3 billion plastic bottles will be produced in 2021 (Statista)

A terrifying figure.

How is it possible that all the hard work we’ve been doing could be having no impact on plastic production?

Spoiler alert - big oil.

2. Big oil

99% of plastic is made from fossil fuels.

Getting crude oil and shale gas (also called fossil fuels or petrochemicals) out of the ground has a devastating effect on the environment.

I’m sure you’ve seen the catastrophic impact of oil spills on the ocean and wildlife. Recently, the ocean was on fire in the Gulf of Mexico after a gas leak.

There is a reason I say not to use your precious energy feeling guilty when you have to buy plastic-packaged food, you are not the problem. Shell, ExxonMobil, BP, Pemex and other fossil fuels companies, are the problem.

During the pandemic, staying home and not flying planes meant demand for oil and fuel dropped considerably. So instead of investing in renewables, big oil came up with another horrendous plan.

Over the next five years, they are planning to spend $400 billion on manufacturing plants to make more virgin plastic.

Not recycled plastic - brand new, single-use plastic.

Do what you can to reduce plastic as an individual, reduce your carbon footprint to fight climate change, but remember that bigger actions matter so much more.

This year for Plastic Free July, I decided to list some actions you can take in 5 minutes. Please share these campaigns and petitions with your families and friends because we need thousands of signatures for them to be discussed in parliament.

3. A quick time-saving tip

When signing petitions, your signature only counts if you confirm your email address after signing.

To save yourself time, sign all the petitions one by one and then head over to your inbox to confirm all the emails together. You simply have to click a button then you can delete the emails.

Unless you’ve checked the box to hear future updates about a specific petition, you won’t hear anything else.

4. Petitions to sign this Plastic-Free July 2021

Tap to share this infographic on Pinterest or you can download and share it with your friends on Facebook

1. Extend the ban on microplastics to cover sunscreens & cosmetics 

Deadline: September 23rd 2021

In 2018, microbeads were banned from rinse-off products, like face wash and body scrubs

Unfortunately, solid particles of plastic are still allowed to be added to leave-on products, including makeup and sunscreen.

Click here to sign the petition to the UK Parliament.

Click here to learn more about ingredients in sunscreen.

2. Introduce charges on carbon emissions to tackle the climate crisis and air pollution

'Deadline: August 17th 2021

Air pollution kills 64,000 people in the UK every year, yet the Government provides annual fossil fuel subsidies of £10.5 billion. To meet UK climate targets, the Government must end this practice and introduce charges on producers of greenhouse gas emissions.

Click here to sign the petition to the UK parliament.

Click here to learn how to reduce your carbon footprint

3. Ban the use of plastic six-pack rings in the UK

Deadline: September 8th 2021

This petition shouldn’t exist but it does because six-pack rings are still being used. The harm that these pointless pieces of single-use plastic do to animals is traumatic. They need to be banned now.

Click here to sign the petition to the UK parliament.

4. Remove the VAT on period pants

Deadline: October 19th 2021

Period pants are taxed at 20% because the government have labelled them a garment rather than a menstrual product.

Single-use pads and tampons have a catastrophic environmental impact, but they are considerably cheaper than reusable menstrual products. To make the environmentally-friendly options more accessible to people, the government needs to remove VAT on period pants.

Click here to sign the petition to the UK parliament.

5. Campaigns to follow

Friends of the earth (cambo)

Friends of the Earth do a lot of great work, but the campaign I’m highlighting this month is one to reject a brand new development for Shell and Siccar Point to extract oil from the North Sea (Cambo Field).

The government must be focussing on reducing carbon emissions and they cannot do this if they are extracting brand new oil from the sea. There must be no new fossil fuel development if we stand any chance of preventing a 1.5°C rise in temperature.

Sign Friends of the Earth’s petition to the UK government here.

I first heard about this campaign from the climate justice activist Mikaela Loach. She is currently protesting the issue in Edinborough and documenting it on Instagram.

Plastic Soup Foundation

Plastic Soup Foundation is an organisation that does great work raising awareness of plastic pollution in rivers, oceans and in our bodies.

They are campaigning to get microplastics banned in the EU and have over 35,000/50,000 signatures.

Sign their petition at change.org here.

Greenpeace

Greenpeace is calling on the UK to fix its plastic crisis. If you’re fed up with the UK burning their plastic and shipping it off overseas then it’s the perfect campaign to get behind. Greenpeace is calling on the UK government to:

1. Stop dumping our plastic waste on other countries
2. Cut the UK’s single-use plastic by 50% by 2025
3. Roll out a Bottle Return Scheme to stop billions of bottles from being dumped

Sign their petition here.

6. Two actions you can take to make a difference

Write to your mp

Your MP’s job is to represent you but for them to be able to do this, they need to know what you want.

You need your MP to support legislation, like bans on unessential and unsafe plastics and laws that force corporations to change the materials they use.

You don’t have to be an expert or have all the answers, you just need to be passionate about the cause.

Write them a letter or email explaining:

1. Why you are concerned about plastic pollution

2. Why they should be concerned about plastic pollution

3. What you’ve been doing to help solve the problem

4. What they can do to help solve the problem

You could even encourage your council to go plastic-free. This document by Friends of the Earth has some great tips for local authorities to reduce their waste.

To send a message to your MP, you can put your postcode in the box on this website.

Pick up plastic

We need to restore the Earth by clearing up plastic pollution. All you need is a pair of gloves or litter picker and a plastic bag from your collection (everyone’s got a bag for life stash, right?!).

1. Pick plastic up on your way home from work

2. Keep the street you live on clear of plastic

3. Join a community beach or forest clean up

4. Organise a litter pick with your friends or family

5. Take your children on a litter pick at the local park

There is no right or wrong way to clean up plastic. Just remember, every piece you pick up is one less bit of waste in the sea.

If you have any more campaigns or petitions then please share them in the comments below.

I’d love to hear what you’re doing in the fight against plastic pollution?

TAP A BUTTON TO SHARE THESE PETITIONS WITH YOUR FRIENDS: