Joining Plastic Free July? Here are tips you can follow

Editor’s note: This press release is sponsored by AboitizPower and was handled by BrandRap, the sales and marketing arm of Rappler. No member of the news and editorial team participated in the publishing of this piece.

According to the Global Plastics Outlook: Economic Drivers, Environmental Impacts and Policy Options, a paper published in 2022, the world is producing double the amount of plastic waste compared to two decades ago. Of these, only 9% have been successfully recycled. 

In 2019, 22 metric tons of plastic materials leaked into the environment. Mismanaged plastic waste, which the study noted as the source of macroplastic leakage, often invades freshwater and terrestrial environments as well as several food and beverage streams.

Here are ways you can be part of the solution:

1. Always carry reusable items with you. These can include eco-bags, reusable water bottles, reusable takeout containers, and many more. 
2. Choose to dine in. Slow down and take your time when eating. Other than reducing waste, this also leads to better digestion, improved hydration, and easier weight maintenance. 
3. Buy in bulk, or buy in zero-waste stores. This will reduce the need for single-use plastics and containers that dominate landfills and contaminate the environment. The habit will also lower the energy footprint required for packaging. 
4. Clean used plastic before disposing. Dirty plastics cannot be recycled. 

Living clean of plastic doesn’t have to be so difficult. A primary example can be observed at AboitizPower subsidiary Hedcor after it launched a campaign that disallowed the use of Polyethylene Terephthalate bottles across all of its offices and facilities. – Rappler.com