Nonprofit launches local campaign for a Plastic Free July
Learn about ways to cut back on your plastic use with the help of SustainFloyd and the Floyd Farmers Market.
SustainFloyd has launched a local Plastic Free July campaign as a part of the shared global movement that helps people reduce plastic waste through simple, everyday choices and be part of the solution to plastic pollution.
Local volunteers will be making posts on social media to remind the community to commit to the cause and work together to make a difference.
SustainFloyd’s first post about the campaign on Facebook read, “I choose one single-use plastic item that I could avoid (take out cups, water bottles, grocery bags, etc). I will find ways to reduce or eliminate this item for the month of July,” and the post on July 2 expanded on the issue of single-use water bottles:
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“Producing plastic bottles requires petroleum, both raw material and as energy for manufacturing. It requires water, about three liters to produce a one liter bottle. Much of what enters recycling streams is downcycled rather than made into new bottles, the remainder ending up in landfills, incinerators, or the environment, where it fragments into microplastics that contaminate ecosystems indefinitely,” the post said. It continued, “Studying the effects of microplastics shows associations with inflammation, hormonal disruption, and cellular damage-more to come. The alternatives may take a bit more effort and they also give more reward. In places like Floyd, with access to safe drinking water, a reusable water bottle avoids unnecessary single-use plastic water bottles.”
Learn more about the global Plastic Free July movement here.
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More ways to cut back on plastic with SustainFloyd:
(Note: This information was originally shared in the July newsletter and on SustainFloyd’s Facebook page.)
Visit the Floyd ReFillery
A regular offering from SustainFloyd during the Floyd Farmers Market is the ReFillery.
Help keep plastic use down by using refillable household cleaners and personal care products. We also carry a wide variety of other products that help reduce waste, like travel mugs, reusable cutlery for picnics and takeouts, handkerchiefs and much more.
We are trying an experiment for the next few weeks: save time on your Refillery visit by emailing your order in advance. We will make up your order in recycled containers, which you can return to us for reuse. Email by 5:00pm on Thursday to pick up on Saturday.
Visit us at the Refillery at the back of the Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. We stock a good range of household cleaners and personal care products that can be refilled, or are otherwise aimed at reducing waste, We are always happy to see you and show you how things work. Find a list of the items we have here.
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Make Your Own Yogurt
Cut down on plastic and eat better yogurt. Plastic yogurt pots are made of polypropylene (#5 plastic) which is not easily recycled. We can make a big difference in the waste stream by making yogurt at home.
You can use any milk except UHT processed milk. You can use any container, and there are many ways to keep the yogurt warm as it develops, including putting it in an Instapot with a yogurt setting or wrapping it tightly while warm and storing it in a cooler or in an oven with a pilot light.
Here is an example of one way to make yogurt at home — there are numerous others online.
Reuse/Recycle Days
On the first Saturday of each month, SustainFloyd and the Floyd Farmers Market hold Reuse/Recycle Day.
Volunteers collect unwanted materials for upcycling projects, then they meet on Friday afternoons to work on upcycling projects. Currently, the group could use items like old sheets, curtains, and tablecloths.
Anyone who would like to attend can email info@sustainfloyd.org.
