Our pledge to support 'Plastic-free July'

Plastic-free July is an annual global movement that encourages people to reduce their plastic consumption throughout July and beyond.

By inspiring people to consider their everyday plastic usage and make small lifestyle changes, the campaign shows how we can all help to reduce the impact of plastic on our planet. 

At VET.CT, as part of our ongoing drive to support sustainability, we invite all our colleagues to make a 'Plastic Pledge' in July. This helps to build habits that create permanent changes to the use of plastic. The cumulative impact - both individually throughout their life, and collectively as a company - can be significant.

Ideas for reducing your plastic usage:

• Carrying a reusable bottle or coffee cup
• Avoid buying food with excessive packaging
• Utilise bulk buying and refill shops
• Stop using plastic cutlery and straws
• Get your milk delivered in reusable containers
• Always carrying reusable shopping bags
• Ditching the plastic food wrap
• Choose plastic-free chewing gum
• Using bars of soap instead of plastic soap dispensers
• Switch to a more sustainable toothbrush (plastic toothbrushes can take 500 years to break down!)
• Skip the disposable razor
  
  

Download our PDF guide to plastic alternatives

Plastic? What's the problem?

There are global efforts to tackle plastic pollution but sadly it often isn't recycled in the way we'd hope!

Due to their varied chemical composition, contamination and lack of infrastructure, plastic wastes are difficult to recycle into high-value goods. Recycling rates for plastic are lower than for any other material commonly discarded. It's vital to wash items and place them in the correct recycling collection bins, but even then recycling rates may be low and vary across regions. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), scientists believe just 9% of the world’s plastic is recycled. 

The remaining 91% of plastic waste is discarded, ending in incineration, landfill, or polluting the environment.

Plastic recycling - a global issue?

Prior to 2019, over 50% of US recycled plastic was shipped to China and Hong Kong. Chinese manufacturers received the plastic material in order to use it as a feedstock to make new plastic goods but found that much of the waste was too contaminated to be used. Instead, the vast majority was disposed of, burned or dumped in rivers, ultimately ending up in the world’s oceans. In June 2019, India, Malaysia, Poland, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam all announced bans on foreign plastic wastes. 

Problems with plastics in landfills

When plastic degrades in a landfill, chemical additives and microplastics leach out of the material, contaminating the environment with substances that disrupt the health, endocrine and reproductive functions of humans and animals. Adults take in up to 121,000 microplastic particles per year.

Plastic waste can also exacerbate inequalities, as landfills tend to be located in low-income rural communities, often near the homes of racial/ethnic minority people worsening existing inequalities.

What can we do about it?

We may feel this is an insurmountable problem, but the great news is by making small changes, together and over time we can have a big impact. The hierarchy of change means it's more effective to refuse plastics, than it is to recycle them:

REFUSE - can you refuse to use plastic? Is there a more sustainable alternative option?

REDUCE - if you have to use plastic, can you reduce the amount/frequency?

REUSE - avoid single use plastics

RECYCLE - wash it & put it in the right bin, but remember it may not actually be recycled!

RECOVER energy from it

BIN - landfill should be the last option, but is still better than littering.

Consumer demand also drives companies to be more sustainable, such as the move to more cardboard packaging and biodegradable single-use items. Governments are also taking action; bans and taxes on single-use plastics exist in more than 120 countries. It's important that each of us does our bit to drive personal, local and systemic change to reduce the impact of plastics across our world.