Take the challenge and go plastic free this July


Whitehorse City Council is urging people to take the Plastic Free July challenge and help keep plastic out of our landfills. 

Whitehorse Councillor Denise Massoud said each year Australians send one million tonnes of plastic waste to landfill.

“Much of this waste is single use plastic, such as plastic bags, plastic bottles, cling wrap, straws and coffee cups, as well as some you may not have thought of such as toothbrushes, shampoo, deodorant and packaging used for food and toiletries,” Cr Massoud said. 

Council is inviting all Whitehorse individuals, schools, families, businesses and organisations to take part in Plastic Free July and say no to single use plastic for the whole month. 

“Plastic Free July is such an eye opener to just how much single use plastic people are consuming. This initiative is so important as it raises awareness of what a major impact single use plastic has on our environment,” Cr Massoud said. 

The challenge is a great way for people to be creative and come up with new ways to reuse existing plastic products or find alternatives to plastic. 

Here are a bunch of tips to get you started:

  • Reuse bread bags as sandwich bags
  • Store your food in multi-use bowls rather than using cling wrap
  • Buy laundry detergent in a box and milk in cartons
  • Reuse the plastic bags provided for fruit and vegies the next times you buy fruit and vegies
  • Use a shampoo soap or natural soap instead of buying shampoo, body wash or liquid soap
  • Make your own pasta or buy in bulk rather than buying packet pasta
  • Look out for a wooden toothbrush or hairbrush
  • Take a reusable cup or ask for your coffee without the lid. 

If you are interested in taking part in Plastic Free July, visit www.plasticfreejuly.org and register to take the challenge for a few days, a week, or the full month of July.

For more information visit Whitehorse City Council