Over the past month working for the Recycling Society I have found the scale of how much is collected to be overwhelming. 1000 pounds of plastic bags are received every day at the Depot, the majority of these bags could be replaced with reusable totes or bags. I also find it hard to see the bins of single- use water bottles that are collected daily. While I appreciate that these items aren’t going into the landfill, it still seems unbelievably wasteful to me.
In an effort to reduce my contribution to the plastic that is collected at the Depot, I have been taking part in the Plastic Free July Challenge. This Australian-based challenge is aimed at eliminating (or at least reducing) single-use plastic items. The challenge is to avoid all of the single use packaging you can, and any items you cannot avoid must be put into a “dilemma bag” to review after the challenge is done. I am choosing to participate in the challenge for the entire month of July, however some residents are participating for a week or even just a day.
Every piece of plastic ever produced still exists somewhere in our world, and often finds its way into marine life, causing significant damage to fish, birds and other wildlife. While recycling is very important, the Plastic Free July Challenge focuses on refusing, reducing and reusing single use plastic items. If any of you are interested in learning more or participating in the challenge, more information can be found at www.plasticfreejuly.org

Ridge Meadows Recycling Society gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Government of Canada through their Canada Summer Jobs Grant program.