Plastic Free July: Ways to Reduce Plastic Dependence
July is full of fun summer activities, unfortunately with lots of single-use plastic accompanying them. It is challenging to enjoy beaches, oceans, and lakes when they are typically associated with a large concentration of plastic pollution.
This is the awareness the Plastic Free Foundation raises with their global Plastic Free July challenge. The initiative encourages organizations, businesses, communities, and individuals to take the pledge and reduce plastic consumption. In the spirit of this initiative, this blog will dive deeper into the hotter topics in waste management.
Trashy Facts on Plastic Use & Recycling
In the United States, approximately 37 million tons of plastic are used every year. On average, Americans consume 100 pounds per person per year of packaging and food-service plastics.
Recycling plastic has helped reduce emissions by eliminating the need to extract and process raw materials. Recycling plastic saves approximately 30 percent of carbon emissions compared to the original plastic production process. Although recycling plastic capabilities and volumes have increased since its production, the total plastic recycled in the U.S is relatively small- three million or 8.7 percent of all plastics consumed.
The rest of plastic is mostly landfilled with some volume also slipping in our natural environments.