Plastic Free July is not about being perfect. It is a chance to notice how plastic appears in our homes, shops, streets, wardrobes and routines, and to challenge ourselves to make simple swaps that reduce waste.

Plastic pollution is not just about bottles on beaches. It can start on land, build up in soil and green spaces, wash into drains and rivers, and eventually reach the sea. It can also show up in less obvious ways, from synthetic clothing and wet wipes to cigarette filters, paint and tiny particles shed from car tyres.

Plastic is designed to last, which is useful for some things, but a problem when it becomes waste. It can take years, decades or even longer to break down, and when it does, it often becomes smaller pieces called microplastics rather than disappearing completely.

On land, plastic can trap or injure animals, be mistaken for food by wildlife, block drains, and carry pollutants through the environment. This matters because the land and sea are connected. What happens in our homes, streets and green spaces can affect our rivers, beaches and coastline.

Everyday changes that reduce plastic waste

Small changes can make a real difference. Carrying a reusable water bottle, bringing a reusable coffee cup, keeping a tote bag with you and choosing loose fruit and vegetables where possible can all reduce the amount of single-use packaging we use.

Refill shops can help cut packaging for cleaning products and toiletries, while public refill points make it easier to avoid buying bottled water when you are out. Washing synthetic clothes less often and using a microfibre-catching bag or filter can also help reduce the tiny plastic fibres released through laundry.

Travel choices matter too. Walking, cycling or using public transport where possible can reduce tyre wear, one of the less visible sources of microplastic pollution. Picking up litter, particularly near drains and waterways, can prevent waste from being washed further through the environment.

These actions are useful not because any one person can solve plastic pollution alone, but because they make lower-waste habits more normal and help reduce the amount of plastic entering the system in the first place.

Community action and getting involved locally

The scale of plastic waste in the UK shows why collective action matters. UK households throw away an estimated 1.7 billion pieces of plastic packaging every week, and not all of it is recycled.

Plastic waste is not only shaped by individual choices. It is also shaped by the places we shop, the events we attend, the facilities available to us, and the habits we build together as communities.

Schools, workplaces and community groups can set shared challenges to reduce single-use packaging, improve recycling points, encourage refillable bottles or make one practical lower-waste change. Event organisers can provide refill points, reusable cups and clear recycling, while reducing single-use decorations and unnecessary giveaways.

Creativity can also make plastic waste visible again. Locally, the University of Brighton Waste House shows how materials often seen as waste can be reused in creative and practical ways. Projects such as What the Water Gave Us by Laura Callaghan have used objects and plastic waste found along the shoreline to explore what the sea returns to us.

Reporting overflowing bins, repeat litter hotspots, fly-tipping, blocked drains or places where plastic waste collects helps local councils respond. Joining a beach clean or community litter pick can stop plastic reaching drains, rivers and the sea while bringing people together around a shared place.

Local environmental groups play an important role too. Volunteering, attending an event, sharing their work, donating equipment or inviting a friend along can strengthen the community effort to protect beaches, streets, parks, rivers and green spaces.

Plastic waste is bigger than the bin

Plastic is useful, but the way we produce and use it has created a serious waste problem. Global plastic production doubled between 2000 and 2019, reaching around 460 million tonnes. Only around 9% of plastic waste is ultimately recycled globally, and global plastic waste could almost triple by 2060 if current trends continue.

One of the biggest misunderstandings is the word ‘recyclable’. Recyclable does not always mean recycled. Something may be technically recyclable, but that does not mean it is collected locally, sorted correctly, processed in practice or turned back into something useful. Some plastics are made from mixed materials, films, flexible packaging, dark plastics or contaminated packaging that recycling systems struggle to deal with.

Recycling matters, but it cannot solve the problem on its own. By the time plastic reaches the recycling bin, it has already been produced, packaged, transported, sold and used. Reducing plastic waste therefore requires action earlier in the system: less unnecessary plastic, better product and packaging design, more refill and reuse options, stronger responsibility for companies, and policies that make lower-waste choices easier for everyone.

Policy can make a difference. In England, the single-use carrier bag charge has led to a reduction of more than 98% in bags sold by main retailers since it was introduced. Rules on single-use plastic items have also restricted products such as plastic cutlery, balloon sticks and some polystyrene food and drink containers.

Producer responsibility rules are another example. They require businesses that place packaging on the market to report packaging data and, in many cases, contribute towards the cost of managing that packaging waste. Enforcement matters too, including action where waste rules are broken, recyclability claims mislead people or contaminated plastic waste is exported illegally.

People can support wider change by signing and sharing campaigns, writing to MPs and councillors, asking supermarkets and brands to reduce packaging, encouraging schools and workplaces to cut single-use plastic, supporting producer-responsibility measures and choosing businesses that offer refill, reuse and repair options. It is also worth challenging vague claims such as ‘recyclable’ by asking whether an item is actually recycled locally, whether it could be reused, or whether the packaging could be avoided altogether.

Progress is possible

Plastic pollution remains a major global challenge, but there are real examples showing that when governments, businesses, communities and individuals act together, plastic waste can be reduced.

Around the world, governments have used bans, charges, restrictions and producer responsibility rules to reduce plastic waste. A major study of more than 45,000 shoreline clean-ups found that plastic bag bans and fees were linked to a 25–47% reduction in plastic bags as a share of items collected, compared with areas without those policies.

The EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive has targeted some of the single-use plastic items most commonly found on European beaches. Where alternatives are available, it has restricted items including plastic cutlery, plates, straws, stirrers, cotton bud sticks, balloon sticks and certain expanded-polystyrene food and drink containers.

The OECD has also modelled what stronger global action could achieve. Under a high-ambition policy package, plastics use and waste could be substantially reduced compared with business-as-usual projections by 2060, while leakage of plastic into the environment could be brought close to zero.

In the UK, the carrier bag charge is one of the clearest examples of policy changing behaviour. England has also restricted a range of single-use plastic items, introduced a Plastic Packaging Tax for packaging that does not contain enough recycled plastic, and begun shifting more of the cost of packaging waste towards producers through Extended Producer Responsibility.

These changes are not perfect, and there is still much more to do. But they show that when policy changes the default, behaviour and business practice can change too. Plastic reduction is not only about asking people to make better choices; it is also about changing the rules, products and systems around them.

Local action across The Living Coast

Across The Living Coast, local projects show what practical change can look like. Refill stations and public water fountains across Brighton & Hove make it easier for people to avoid single-use plastic bottles when they are out and about. The Brighton & Hove Food Partnership’s plastic-free shopping resources help people find local places offering loose, refillable and lower-waste options.

Community groups, beach cleans and litter picks help stop plastic from reaching drains, rivers and the sea while making the issue more visible. Creative projects such as the University of Brighton Waste House and What the Water Gave Us show how waste can be understood differently and reused in imaginative ways.

Progress does not come from one big solution. It comes from many changes happening at once. Every refill point, policy change, beach clean, plastic-free shop, repair project, creative campaign and conversation helps make lower-waste choices easier and more normal.

There is still much more to do, but progress is possible, and it is already happening.