July 11, 2025 • 7 mins
Globally, around 460 million metric tons of plastic is produced every year, and it’s estimated that 20 million metric tons of plastic litter ends up in the environment.
To try and mitigate some of the damage, Plastic Free July was launched in 2011.
It’s a key initiative of the Plastic Free Foundation, which aims to work towards a world free of plastic waste.
Founder and Executive Director of Plastic Free July, Rebecca Prince-Ruiz joined Jack Tame to discuss the initiative and challenge people to get involved.
Find more details here.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
A'd be we're in the middle of July. We usually
think of July as being dry July, but it also
it's also plastic free July. And it's almost fifteen years
since Plastic Free July was first launched. Rebecca Prince Ruiz
is the founder and executive director of Plastic Free July,
and she's with us we're almost halfway through the month
to talk a little bit about how plastic Free July
(00:32):
is going this year. Good a Rebecca, and welcome to
the show.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Good morning, Cura.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Nice to be speaking with you. So can you just
explain exactly what pstic plastic Free July actually is.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Well, Plastic Free July is a moment to look at
the plastics in our lives. It's not actually about being
plastic free. That's impossible. I wouldn't be talking to you
on the phone now if I was.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Plus one plastic free.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's just about choosing one or two
of the single use plastics items we use just for
a few seconds or a minute, a few minutes and
throw them away and finding alternatives. So, like you know,
choosing you remembering your usable coffee cup, or refilling your
water bottle, or switching from liquid soaps to a bar soap.
(01:24):
And it's about, like I said, it's about not about
being perfect. It's about lots of people making small changes
which together adds up to a big difference.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah, that's a really good point. I hadn't thought about
the soap one before. That's an obvious one. I use
bar soap because I just think it, I feel like
it works better. But that's quite a simple one. So
what are some of the other like simple ways that
people could could like reduce plastic use in their lives.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Oh, look, there's so many ways that millions of people
around the world are reducing their plastic waste at the moment.
In you know, in Altro and New Zealand, plastic bags
have been banned. In other countries, people might be focusing
on the bags, skipping straws things that we've banned, or
(02:10):
taking reusable produce bags, cutting down on plastic food wrap
in the kitchen, storing food in containers or putting a
plate on top of a bowl, or using wax wraps
in the kitchen. A lot of people are trying out
(02:31):
and there's been some great workshops in New Zealand over
this month of how to make your own body scrub
or deodorant or cleaning instead of having fifteen different plastic
bottles of cleaning products in our kitchens and our laundries,
just using things like bi carb and vinegar or lemons
(02:56):
that we can use the same materials that you can
often get refilled and use those instead. It's an opportunity,
I think, first of all, to make new habits, like
we all you know, we all have a reusable coffee cup.
Many of us have five or six of those, but
they're not reusable if you've left them at home in
(03:18):
the cupboard. And even those paper cups are normally lined
with plastic or have plastic lids, and they end up
in our landfill, hopefully not as litter. But these are
all just simple changes that we can make and we
know it makes a difference. So last year, one hundred
and seventy four million people took part in Plastic Free
(03:39):
July and together avoided three hundred and ninety million kilos
of plastic wats. So, but you know, the solutions we
always say, like do what you can with what you have,
where you are because you know, some people are very
fortunate they can buy a lot of their household products
and foods in bulk, whereas others don't have either those
(04:02):
stores available or and in a position to do it.
So we say like, look in your pantry, look in
your fridge, look in your binds, see what you can,
see what you're using, and then have a think about
what you can avoid. And we share lots of ideas
on our website and socials of what people are doing
(04:24):
around the world.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
So people can go to website by going to Plastic
Free July dot, Ogi dot org, Robigga. Do you feel
like we're sort of like the plastic free movement is
like gaining a bit of momentum at the moment that
people you know that people are kind of more into
trying to reduce the amount of plastic in their lives.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Oh one hundred percent. And it's not just plastic, like
we also know, you know, when we're starting to people
starting to try and reduce their plastic, which is often
the first step, it's also about reducing overall waste. So
you know, instead of you need one avocado, you go
to the store, it's cheaper to buy four, which is
(05:07):
very frustrating when it's chipid by four on a plastic
tray with plastic rap. But if you only needed one,
chances are that the other four might you know, go
to waste. So there's that kind of parallel impact. But
we also like encourage people and share ideas, and the
community is doing things like, you know, menu planning from
(05:30):
their fridge, using up leftovers, making a stock from the
veggies you didn't manage to finish up last week, and
love food, hate waste. It's got some great ideas about
you know, using leftovers, and it's you know, I think
plastic is almost the entry point. And when I started
this fifteen years ago, single use wasn't even a term,
(05:53):
and now there's so much momentum and so many stories.
Of course we've got to go. There's a lot more
that we can do, but you know, we have to
tackle this problem. Like we're coming to the point where
even even our clothes, which much of them are made
of plastics, with fast fashion, they're becoming single use and
(06:13):
so many of our household items. So it's about it's
about finding alternatives, it's about being more mindful about reducing
our waste, reducing our footprint, because the less we the
more that we can reduce and reuse and repair, the
more of an impact we're going to have, and the
(06:35):
less resources that we use, and the more that we
are mindful, the less overall resources are being extracted and
used and consumed right across the life cycle of these products.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Well sounds great. Thank you so much, Rebecca. We really
appreciate your time this morning. Rebecca print Thruease is the
founder and executive director of Plastic Free July. You can
see more information of Plastic Free July dot org
Speaker 1 (07:01):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to news talks it'd be from night Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
A'd be we're in the middle of July. We usually
think of July as being dry July, but it also
it's also plastic free July. And it's almost fifteen years
since Plastic Free July was first launched. Rebecca Prince Ruiz
is the founder and executive director of Plastic Free July,
and she's with us we're almost halfway through the month
to talk a little bit about how plastic Free July
(00:32):
is going this year. Good a Rebecca, and welcome to
the show.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Good morning, Cura.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Nice to be speaking with you. So can you just
explain exactly what pstic plastic Free July actually is.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Well, Plastic Free July is a moment to look at
the plastics in our lives. It's not actually about being
plastic free. That's impossible. I wouldn't be talking to you
on the phone now if I was.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Plus one plastic free.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's just about choosing one or two
of the single use plastics items we use just for
a few seconds or a minute, a few minutes and
throw them away and finding alternatives. So, like you know,
choosing you remembering your usable coffee cup, or refilling your
water bottle, or switching from liquid soaps to a bar soap.
(01:24):
And it's about, like I said, it's about not about
being perfect. It's about lots of people making small changes
which together adds up to a big difference.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah, that's a really good point. I hadn't thought about
the soap one before. That's an obvious one. I use
bar soap because I just think it, I feel like
it works better. But that's quite a simple one. So
what are some of the other like simple ways that
people could could like reduce plastic use in their lives.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Oh, look, there's so many ways that millions of people
around the world are reducing their plastic waste at the moment.
In you know, in Altro and New Zealand, plastic bags
have been banned. In other countries, people might be focusing
on the bags, skipping straws things that we've banned, or
(02:10):
taking reusable produce bags, cutting down on plastic food wrap
in the kitchen, storing food in containers or putting a
plate on top of a bowl, or using wax wraps
in the kitchen. A lot of people are trying out
(02:31):
and there's been some great workshops in New Zealand over
this month of how to make your own body scrub
or deodorant or cleaning instead of having fifteen different plastic
bottles of cleaning products in our kitchens and our laundries,
just using things like bi carb and vinegar or lemons
(02:56):
that we can use the same materials that you can
often get refilled and use those instead. It's an opportunity,
I think, first of all, to make new habits, like
we all you know, we all have a reusable coffee cup.
Many of us have five or six of those, but
they're not reusable if you've left them at home in
(03:18):
the cupboard. And even those paper cups are normally lined
with plastic or have plastic lids, and they end up
in our landfill, hopefully not as litter. But these are
all just simple changes that we can make and we
know it makes a difference. So last year, one hundred
and seventy four million people took part in Plastic Free
(03:39):
July and together avoided three hundred and ninety million kilos
of plastic wats. So, but you know, the solutions we
always say, like do what you can with what you have,
where you are because you know, some people are very
fortunate they can buy a lot of their household products
and foods in bulk, whereas others don't have either those
(04:02):
stores available or and in a position to do it.
So we say like, look in your pantry, look in
your fridge, look in your binds, see what you can,
see what you're using, and then have a think about
what you can avoid. And we share lots of ideas
on our website and socials of what people are doing
(04:24):
around the world.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
So people can go to website by going to Plastic
Free July dot, Ogi dot org, Robigga. Do you feel
like we're sort of like the plastic free movement is
like gaining a bit of momentum at the moment that
people you know that people are kind of more into
trying to reduce the amount of plastic in their lives.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Oh one hundred percent. And it's not just plastic, like
we also know, you know, when we're starting to people
starting to try and reduce their plastic, which is often
the first step, it's also about reducing overall waste. So
you know, instead of you need one avocado, you go
to the store, it's cheaper to buy four, which is
(05:07):
very frustrating when it's chipid by four on a plastic
tray with plastic rap. But if you only needed one,
chances are that the other four might you know, go
to waste. So there's that kind of parallel impact. But
we also like encourage people and share ideas, and the
community is doing things like, you know, menu planning from
(05:30):
their fridge, using up leftovers, making a stock from the
veggies you didn't manage to finish up last week, and
love food, hate waste. It's got some great ideas about
you know, using leftovers, and it's you know, I think
plastic is almost the entry point. And when I started
this fifteen years ago, single use wasn't even a term,
(05:53):
and now there's so much momentum and so many stories.
Of course we've got to go. There's a lot more
that we can do, but you know, we have to
tackle this problem. Like we're coming to the point where
even even our clothes, which much of them are made
of plastics, with fast fashion, they're becoming single use and
(06:13):
so many of our household items. So it's about it's
about finding alternatives, it's about being more mindful about reducing
our waste, reducing our footprint, because the less we the
more that we can reduce and reuse and repair, the
more of an impact we're going to have, and the
(06:35):
less resources that we use, and the more that we
are mindful, the less overall resources are being extracted and
used and consumed right across the life cycle of these products.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Well sounds great. Thank you so much, Rebecca. We really
appreciate your time this morning. Rebecca print Thruease is the
founder and executive director of Plastic Free July. You can
see more information of Plastic Free July dot org
Speaker 1 (07:01):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to news talks it'd be from night Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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