A 7-Day Plastic Pledge: How to Keep Your House Sustainable
The 7-day plastic pledge is held throughout August 2021. It aims to bring awareness to the country’s growing waste problem and show why you should rely less on single-use plastic. Eliminating plastic from your daily life is the first step to a zero-waste lifestyle.
How To Take the 7-Day Plastic Pledge
To encourage more people to join the 7-day plastic pledge, KAB made the registration process as easy as possible. All you need to get started is your smartphone.
Step 1: Take the Pledge
Make a quick video or take a photo of yourself for the 7-day plastic pledge. The clip should give the audience an idea of what single-use plastic item you plan to give up for the coming week.
Once you’re done, upload the file onto the kab.org.au website. They will also ask for your basic contact information, such as name, contact number, email address, and state/territory.
Step 2: Share Your Pledge
Share your pledge with the world! Uploading them on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok gives you a chance to win KAB’s special prizes. Make sure you use the hashtag #KABWEEK2021 to increase post visibility.
Step 3: Perform the 7-Day Plastic Pledge
Lastly, observe the pledge for seven consecutive days. Choose accessible, convenient alternatives to avoid reverting to single-use plastic items.
Sustainable Alternatives to the 7 Most Commonly Used Plastic Items
Are you having trouble deciding which single-use plastic item to cut out? KAB recommends swapping at least one of these seven commonly used plastic products for sustainable, eco-friendly alternatives.
1. Cotton Pads
Cotton pads play a crucial role in any skincare routine. You can use these to apply toner, remove makeup, and moisturize the skin.
Unfortunately, they’re also harmful to the environment. A study by the World Wide Fund for Nature even indicates that producing 2.2 pounds of cotton wastes over 20,000 liters of clean water.
Fortunately, you don’t have to give up cotton pads to live sustainably. Switch to LastRound organic cotton makeup rounds by LastObject instead. Since you can reuse each pad 250 times, a pack of seven rounds would easily replace 1,750 pieces of disposable cotton rounds.
2. Plastic Bottles
While Australia has an efficient disposal method for recyclables, the country only successfully recycles around 36% of PET plastic drinking bottles. Over 370 million plastic bottles still end up in landfills per annum.
If you want to eliminate the need for plastic water bottles in your life, invest in a good water filter. Get a faucet water purifier like the PFM400H from PUR. The device is super easy to install and requires minimal long-term maintenance. It can begin filtering tap water minutes after installation.
We also encourage getting an insulated water bottle from Hydro Flask. Fill it with water and carry it around wherever you go outside so you wouldn’t have to buy bottled water anymore.
3. Single-Use Plastic Bags
Single-use grocery bags stand among the biggest contributors to the country’s growing plastic waste problem. Millions of plastic bags end up in landfills every day.
The good news is that modern society has long been aware of the hazards associated with single-use plastic bags. Many territories around the country mandate grocery stores to use eco-friendly, paper-based alternatives.
However, if you find paper bags tricky to use, invest in reusable grocery bags. The BeeGreen Store offers dozens of high-quality reusable shopping totes. You can fill these bags with up to 40 lbs. worth of groceries and reuse them for around one to two years.
4. Takeaway Packaging
Don’t leave food on your plate when eating out. Food establishments have no choice but to throw out their customers’ food scraps and leftovers—even if the dish was untouched the whole time. This practice wastes around 30 billion pounds of food per year.
While you can avoid wasting food by bringing home leftovers, most establishments pack takeaways in single-use plastic containers. Instead of requesting takeout, bring your own food containers. The sustainable storage containers have airtight bamboo lids and durable glass bodies that can keep your food fresh for several days.
5. Plastic Drinking Straws
Reusable drinking straws have been on the market for quite a while now. Dozens of brands now offer several options made of bamboo, metal, and silicone.
You can use whatever variant you want, although we recommend the reusable silicone straws from the HIWARE Store. Unlike other reusable straws, these will not leave a weird aftertaste in your mouth.
Make the Most Out of Your 7-Day Plastic Pledge
Sure, the KAB’s prizes sound cool, but they should be the reason for you to take the pledge. Use the pledge as a gateway to a more eco-friendly lifestyle. It serves as a reminder that even small efforts to live sustainably have significant effects if performed consistently.
Eliminate the idea that you cannot live without plastic!
After finishing the 7-day plastic pledge, make a new pledge to remove another commonly used plastic item in your life. The process might seem mundane and insignificant, but trust me, you’ll soon bear fruits. Imagine how much progress you’ll make after a year of plastic-free pledges.