Tag: plastic | Vesica

29 Jun

What is Plastic-Free July – and how to get involved

2021-06-24
By Vesica
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Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution.

Founded by the Plastic Free Foundation in 2011, Plastic Free July allows us to work towards our vision of seeing a world free of plastic waste so we can have cleaner streets, safer oceans and beautiful communities.

The Plastic Free July challenge helps millions of people take small, daily actions to reduce plastic consumption. Last year, 326 million people across the globe took part in the challenge from 177 countries to reduce each participant’s household waste and recycling by an average of almost 5% (21kg).

This year, the Plastic Free July® challenge is calling on people to choose to refuse single-use plastic in a bid to help exceed last year’s worldwide efforts and hit the global target of 1 billion kilos of waste avoidance.

Whether you’re a beginner or an avid plastic-waste warrior. This is a great opportunity to reinstate the positive progress made in reducing plastic waste and pollution in our own household and across the globe. How much of a difference would this make in your house?

Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, founder of Plastic Free July and one of the world’s leading plastic waste experts, explains why she believes the challenge can achieve record waste avoidance this year.

“Every year this challenge has grown exponentially, having started with only 40 colleagues in Perth to over 250 million global participants. This year the challenge feels more poignant than ever as we begin to realise how intrinsically our social and physical environment is tied to the fundamental wellbeing of our communities. We have also seen the power of collective action firsthand. Whilst Plastic Free July is a personal challenge, participants are part of a global effort to create cleaner streets, oceans, and a cleaner, healthier planet. We can all be part of the solution.”

The Plastic Free July Challenge seeks to address the most critical solution to plastic pollution – waste avoidance. Reducing waste and recycling is significantly more energy-efficient than piling up landfill or trying to extract plastic waste from the environment.

“Plastic Free July isn’t about drastic lifestyle change; it’s about being more conscious of the single-use plastics that you use day-to-day and taking small but smart steps to reduce them. Simple swaps could include switching to bar soap or avoiding plastic when you buy your vegetables. The majority of challenge participants started by choosing to refuse at least one single-use plastic but nine out of 10 ended up creating long-term habits that lasted far beyond the challenge itself,” said Rebecca Prince-Ruiz

Plastic Free July stated that last year, 73% of participants refused takeaway coffee (double that of those who have not been part of the challenge) and 8.5 out of 10 people made changes that have become a way of life.

To help you with your challenge, or just to help you get started, we will be sharing handy tips and tricks of how you can reduce your plastic consumption throughout the month of July. Sign up to be part of the solution and join the Plastic Free July movement here. Will you be taking part in the Plastic Free July challenge?

19 Sep

Environmental concerns, Vesica blog

What does it mean to be ‘Eco-Friendly’?

2019-09-19
By Lilly
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What does it mean to be ‘Eco-Friendly’?

Being ‘Eco-Friendly’ and ‘Eco-Conscious’ are such trendy things to do these days – it seems like every other person is getting on the ‘Zero Waste’ bandwagon and hype. Or at least we seem to hear these words flung around so often now that they seem to have become slightly ambiguous or may have lost a bit of significance and meaning. Because I don’t think just swapping out your take away coffee cups for keep cups and using bamboo cutlery is the complete story really. I mean, those are some great simple moves you can do to get started, (and I know that’s not all the ‘Zero Waste’ movement is about either, there’s a lot more to it) but there’s more to this story than just reducing waste don’t you think? I know all of this comes from a place of love and compassion and wanting to do good for the environment, but living a life with less unnecessary plastic waste is only one way of incorporating a more Eco Conscious mind set into your reality.

I found this concept of ‘deep ecology’ a particularly interesting point of discussion and I feel can be a good starting point for further contemplation about Eco-Consciousness. Initially introduced in environmental literature in the 70s by Norwegian philosopher and mountaineer Arne Naess in an era after the 60s where environmentalism was emerging out of grassroots political movements. Drengson in his article Some Thought on the Deep Ecology Movement described it as having an ethic of ‘respecting nature and the inherent worth of other beings’ and involves ‘ redesigning our whole systems based on values and methods that truly preserve the ecological and cultural diversity of natural systems.’

Link to article – Some Thought on the Deep Ecology Movement by Alan Drengson
http://www.deepecology.org/deepecology.htm

Some pretty thought provoking stuff regarding to eco-conscious living, don’t you think?

But I guess what this means for me is living with an awareness of this deep innate connection that we have with the land – to the natural environment around – to the birds, the trees, the animals, the rocks, the mountains, the fire, the rain – to all other beings and the world around, including ourselves. Because we are simultaneously at one with everything that is arising moment to moment, so we must listen to it, respect it and take care of it, otherwise it dies – we die.

Actually, we are not separated from these things – we are but one part of the same interconnected whole. We are a complete Eco-System connected together and unto ourselves. Interdependent with each other and part of the larger whole. You. And me. And everything. On a cosmic scale. ..Boom. This is literally it. ..and you can feel it right down to the chaos of the complex buzzing interconnected world of your own body’s system. The living bugs and bacteria and cells and micro-organisms and even atoms all interacting and exchanging on a micro-cellular level in, on and around your body and in the environment. You – yourself – we, have a micro biome and are completely integrated with it and dependant on it for survival, as it is to you. We are all part of the infinite micro-cosmic biome.

So for me, being Eco Conscious not only means being conscious of your plastic consumption and your waste and your ecological footprint…but in the same way this is connected to how you treat yourself and your own body as well, what foods you eat, what toxins you allow to come into your life, and the habits behaviours and beliefs we choose to create in our lives. Are you truly living consciously in harmony with your own innate micro-biome? Your own personal landscape? – physically, mentally, emotionally – and even spiritually? And with the landscape around you? The people you interact with on a daily basis? the other animals you share the land with? And the land itself?

It’s all connected. And once we start to truly open up our awareness and consciousness about how we are truly impacting our ecology around us including ourselves – you begin to see that we start making more healthy choices for our-selves, our bodies and the environment. You might start eating healthier, going to the farmers market, reducing your plastic footprint, considering toxins in your life, moving around stagnant energies, learning, challenging yourself, expressing yourself authentically, being creative, being in nature and getting outdoors, going on adventures and reaching out into the unknown. You might find yourself meeting new people, discovering new places, having conversations with the neighbours cat, listening to the birds, planting trees, considering your impact on others, practising self-care, tidying, detoxing and cleansing, and healing in all kinds of different ways.

There are a few key indicators that resonate with me in terms of how I define Eco-Conscious living for myself, and I’ve outlined some of these things in the Eco-Friendly QUIZ, but ultimately it’s you who decides what living an Eco-Friendly lifestyle looks like for you.

…Let us know what you think, leave any comments below, feel free to share your Eco-Conscious story and journey with us and spread the word about this awesome and inspiring Eco-Friendly movement!

Article Written by Lillian Adele
(www.lillianadele.com)

Photo by Sylvie Tittel

07 Jun

Environmental concerns, Vesica blog

What’s with all this Plastic at Festivals?

2018-07-30
By Lilly
0 comments

What’s with all this Plastic at Festivals?

So I’ve been around the festival circuit in Australia and abroad for quite some time now and I’ve noticed that there’s been a real trend happening from both festival organisers and punters when it comes to trash and managing waste…

The interesting thing is that often I see this contradiction when it comes to rubbish and this environmentally friendly conversation… and that’s these seemingly eco-friendly festivals presenting themselves as being progressive and supporting conscious choices when it comes to rubbish, but then doing things like not providing bins in venues and not separating rubbish from recyclables…

Here’s a couple of pics from The Boho Festival in Melbourne earlier this year held at The Royal Exhibition building…

There were no bins in the venue to separate trash for attendees. So no choice but ending up as trash. Really sad to see. These festivals like Boho are trying to be eco-friendly by asking vendors to use eco packaging for food – but what’s the point if they don’t get composted or recycled?

Recently a video went viral showing the outrageous amounts of rubbish left behind after the Lost Paradise Festival north of Sydney – in a National Park! Here’s the footage https://tinyurl.com/y8x45b3k

I really don’t get it! I mean, the festival organisers don’t make it easy for punters who want to do the right thing. But also, I think it’s equally important for us as festival goers to start recognising our impact, becoming more empowered when it comes to refusing trash and making a stand for truly conscious choices.

So how can we solve this dilemma? Does it come down to lack money and funding? Lack of Infrastructure? Is it pure laziness, ignorance or lack of care regarding this issue? Or is it simply just lack of awareness surrounding alternative solutions? Who’s to say…I’m not entirely sure…

The one thing I do know though, is that we as individuals and punters need to start taking responsibility for not buying into this wasteful mentality and recognising the beauty of these incredible places and lands that we get to dance, play and celebrate upon. So remember to take your reusable kit with you so you don’t have to use the disposable products – even if they are so called ‘environmentally friendly’ or compostable. In addition to this, the festivals have a responsibility to us as patrons and to the environment to provide the necessary infrastructure for waste management systems and to continue offering plastic-free alternatives.

But I think importantly we have to continue to lead the way with our actions, speaking out about these things happening and using our voices to make a difference and support the ban of plastic at festivals!

Wouldn’t that be a different kind of party? That’s one I’d love to see!

Article written by Lillian Adele

(visit: www.lillianadele.com)

06 Jun

Vesica blog

How to Start Living Plastic Free…

2018-07-03
By Lilly
0 comments

15 May 2018

How to Start Living Plastic Free

First you need to take a closer look at all the plastic in your life and around you – observe how much there is, where it comes from and where it goes.

Then, it’s all about finding plastic free alternatives to those products and things that come wrapped in plastic and are made out of plastic – and swap them out.

Start with steps – you don’t have to do everything all at once because that will become daunting, overwhelming and discouraging very quickly. Don’t be too hard or judgemental on your-self and others either, otherwise it becomes completely draining as well.

As you take the first steps by implementing the alternatives – I find that sectioning or categorising things into separate groups or areas really helps and makes it more manageable. For example: bathroom things or kitchen things, or food and cooking, cleaning products, beauty products, clothes, eating out and takeaway, travel and lifestyle, product packaging, shopping, etc… there are a number of ways you can categorise things to make it easier for you to handle, you’ll come up with what works for you based on what your current modality is.

Gradually you’ll start to really notice a difference and more of a significant reduction in the amount of plastic going through your hands since you began this journey. You’ll see the impact in your life and around you as you start to become a lot more conscious of what you’re consuming and where it comes from.

You get to the point where you can be creative with it as you delve deeper and explore more as you research and discover new things. You’ll come up with your own innovative ideas, recipes, solutions, practices and alternatives to things you had before – and this becomes habitual and automatic. You are more conscious of your choices and how they impact your life, reality and the environment around you. It starts to extend into other areas of your life too, and people notice the change in you and become inspired by you as you shift towards a more conscious plastic free lifestyle. You are sharing more information and connecting with others and the network begin to grow.

Before you know it, this way of life is fully integrated into your lifestyle now and you are really aware and conscious of your impact and plastic footprint. You are taking charge of your choices not to support the unnecessary plastic pollution occurring on this planet and you can shape a positive, healthy, vibrant and plastic free environment.

For 10 simple ways to reduce your plastic – see our next blog post