Plastic Free July had humble beginnings in back in 2011 when Rebecca Prince-Ruiz had the idea of refusing to buy or accept single use plastics for the month of July, just to see if she could. She asked people around her if they wanted to do it too and now it is a global movement with an estimated 140 million people from 195 countries participating in 2022.
I wanted to Talk to Rebecca, not only because she is amazing, but also, Plastic Free July is truly a grassroots movement that has made a global impact. And I was so curious to hear how it started and how it grew. Rebecca is also overflowing with stories of people making change at all levels of society and business and she happily delves into discussions about balancing personal responsibility with demanding action from corporations and governments and we also had some great questions from the audience as well.
Links:
Plastic Free July
Book: Plastic Free
By Rebecca Prince-Ruiz and Joanna Atherford Finn
(Published 2020)
Global plastics treaty
Zero Waste Victoria
BYO Containers
Some other plastic education media pieces:
Climate Town: Plastic Recycling is a scam
DW Planet A: Recycling Myth
The Story of Plastic
S4E09 COP26 with Cam Walker
S4E08 Mildura Part 1: The Mallee, the Murray and the Mayor
S4 E07 Charging the Regions with Rob Law
S4 E06 Healthy Soil with Dr Jess Drake
S4 E05 Cycling Together
S4 E04 The Bioenergy Debate - Part 2 - Questions and Answers
S4 E03 The Bioenergy Debate - Part 1 - The Presentation
S4 E02 Human Health and Climate
S4 E01 What is Saltgrass?
S3 E23 School Strikes: Fund our Future
S3 E22 Full Circle with Scott Ludlam and Alex Kelly
S3 E21 Hear Here
S3 E20 GrAiNZ
S3 E19 Redbeard Bakery with John Reid
S3 E18 Cape Grim with Jessie Boylan
S3 E17 Repair
S3 E16 Degrowth
S3 E15 Second Hand Electric Vehicles with Anton Vikstrom
S3 E14 Endgame
A (cautious) 2021 New Years message
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