Choose to reuse: Say no to plastic bags in Plastic Free July

LISMORE City Council will launch its Plastic Free July campaign tomorrow, July 1, in the Lismore CBD.

Lismore City Council's Waste Education Officer Barbara Jensen with some of the colourful new reusable bags Council will be distributing during Plastic Free July that feature designs by local artists.

LISMORE City Council will launch its Plastic Free July campaign tomorrow, July 1, in the Lismore CBD.

Council is challenging shoppers to choose to reuse and say no to plastic bags for the month of July - and beyond.

The nationwide campaign, Plastic Free July, is part of a push to eliminate single-use plastic bags and instead encourage Australians to carry their shopping in reusable bags.

"Plastic is designed to last forever, yet every day we use it for disposable items that last a few minutes and then throw it away," Council's Waste Education Officer Barbara Jensen said.

"Most plastic goes to landfill, some is recycled and much ends up in the environment. The Plastic Free July campaign claims that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the world's oceans.

"That is a really scary statistic, and we can start addressing the problem by doing something about plastic bag use within our own community.

"Being part of the solution is easy and just takes a little bit of planning. Once you start saying no to plastic bags and taking your reusable shopping bags with you, it soon becomes second nature."

Participating local businesses have been provided with reusable shopping bags to give away during July, featuring designs by the two winners of Council's Reusable Bag Design Competition.

Here are a few surprising statistics from the organisers of Plastic Free July:

• Every bit of plastic ever made still exists in the world.
• In the first 10 years of this century the world has produced more plastic than the entire 1900s.
• Plastic ends up in waterways and the ocean - scientists predict there will be more tonnes of plastic than tonnes of fish by 2050.
• Plastic manufacturing consumes 6% of the world's fossil fuels.

Council will launch its Plastic Free July campaign on Saturday, 1 July on the corner of Magellan and Carrington Streets, Lismore, from 10am to 12pm. The Mayor will officially launch the campaign at 11am.

For more information on the Plastic Free July campaign including tips and hints for living plastic free, visit www.plasticfreejuly.org.