Host a picnic with friends, family and community members to share the solutions that are part of Plastic Free July.

How can you do it?

Get your tribe together – it’s time for a picnic. And really, who doesn’t love sharing some food with friends, family, and workmates in a beautiful park somewhere?

Start by picking out a date and time that suits most people (make sure you consider the weather and if it’s going to be a busy holiday period when lots of people are away). Then, it’s time to start getting prepared for your picnic!

Be sure to bring along food and drink that’s not wrapped in plastic. You can do this easily by buying food from local bulk food stores, checking out farmers markets, and making it yourself from scratch.

Here’s some inspiration to get you started:

• Bake your own crackers – there are dozens of great recipes online.
• Bring water in a reusable bottle (and encourage others to do the same!)
• If choosing to bring soft drink, consider cans instead of plastic bottles or DIY with a fizzy drink maker.
• Make sandwiches and put them in reusable containers or beeswax wraps.
• Bring along nuts and treats from the local bulk food store.
• Buy corn on the cob and make delicious popcorn at home. Bring it along in a reusable container.
• Stock up on cheese at your local bulk food store – remember to BYO container.
• Bake a cake and bring it along as a sweet treat.
• Bring reusable cutlery, plates and glasses. You can encourage everyone to bring their own (which saves you on washing up). If you do leave in your guest’s hands, remember to bring some spares just in case anyone forgets.

Taking the next steps:

The only thing better than having a picnic is… having another one! After the success of your first one, think about whether you want to host a picnic on a regular basis. It could even catch on and become a big thing in your community.

To make your picnic fun and festive (and help people find you in the park), use bunting to decorate. These are more environmentally-friendly than balloons, and you can use them again and again.  

If there’s any food scraps at the end of the day (like fruit rinds), be sure to take them home and compost them. Be sure to encourage people to take any yummy leftovers home, too, rather than throwing them out.

Once you’re on a roll with your picnics, you could look into hosting a film screening , beach clean-up or workshop on plastic free solutions as part of your plastic free community series.

Making an impact:

• A plastic free picnic brings people together around a common goal. It’s always good to start small – from little things, big things grow.
• Empowering people with the skills to go plastic free, even just for one meal, is a great way to kick-start a bigger change. At the picnic, you can share ideas and recipes to expand each other’s knowledge.

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Organise a clean-up in your local community.

How you can do it

Before organising a clean-up in your local park or beach, there are a few practicalities you’ll need to check off. In some municipalities, you need approval before organising a clean-up. It’s worth checking with your council, just to be safe.

You’ll also need to think about a good date and time, taking into consideration the weather. You’re much less likely to rally a group when it’s bucketing down with rain, or, on the flip side, the sun is scorching hot.  

Once you’ve thought those things through, it’s time to find and gather your tribe! Together, you can promote your event (using social media, local papers, talking to schools, libraries, and businesses, and through community notice boards).  

You’ll also be able to come up with an action plan for what equipment you’ll need, and where you’re going to source it from. You’ll need:

• buckets,
• tongs,
• gloves,
• closed-in shoes (people can bring their own for this),
• sunscreen,
• water,
• and a liability waiver for people to sign (there are great templates online).

If possible, try and source these items from someone in the group, or at least secondhand.

You’ll also need to brainstorm how you’re going to dispose of the litter at the end of the clean-up. Are there bins nearby, or do you need to arrange transport of the waste to a more suitable location?

In the lead up to the event, be sure to register the event on Plastic Free July’s events map. This can help like-minded people in our community find out about your clean-up event and possibly join in!

And, finally, have fun! It’s a great chance to socialise with your plastic free community and spend the day outdoors.

Take lots of photos and share them on social media. Be sure to use the @plasticfreejuly handle.

Taking the next steps:

If you’re supplying food and drinks, think about how you can do it in a plastic free way.

Another great way of stepping up your event is by measuring the number, volume or weight of the litter you find, and recording it in a marine debris database. Local researchers will be able to help you find out how.

The success of your event is a great platform to encourage others to organise a beach or park clean-up in their area, too.

Making an impact:

• Community events are a great way of bringing people together around common goals and values.
• Being involved in taking positive action feels good and is often more motivating than dwelling on the problem of plastic waste.
• It’s proven that people are much less likely to continue to litter in an area that’s clean and free from visible waste.

The post Beach/park clean up appeared first on Plastic Free July.

Organise the screening of a plastic-related film for your community.

How you can do it

Start by choosing a film that would appeal to your community. We’ve compiled a list of our favourite plastic-related films. Just be sure to watch it first or read reviews to make sure that it’s suitable for your audience.

Once you have chosen the film, it’s time to organise the event. You’ll need to find a suitable venue, thinking about accessibility so that no one is left out. You’ll need to work out a budget for the costs involved, including venue hire.

Cinemas usually charge a percentage of the booking fee, whereas libraries, community halls and schools will often allow you to host for a fraction of the cost. There may be a cost for the film too. Some are available for free, but for some you’ll need to purchase a screening license.

These costs will help you figure out how much you want to charge for tickets. If you want to keep the tickets free, or provide tickets at low/no charge for those who can’t afford full price, that’s something to consider as well. Many community groups ask a local business to sponsor the event as a way of being associated with the positive values and popularity of Plastic Free July.

Promoting your event is key. Allow at least 6-8 weeks for tickets to sell, and encourage attendees (plus your friends, family members, and colleagues) to share the event on social media. There are event booking sites in many countries that allow community groups to set up online ticketing at little or no cost.

You can ask local schools, your council and businesses to help promote the event, by providing information to include in their newsletters and shop windows. Your local newspaper, community leaders and politicians might be able to help promote your community event, too.

Add your screening to our event’s map, so that like-minded members in our community know about it.

As a takeaway from your event, you might want to encourage attendees to take action by signing up for the Plastic Free July challenge. It’s a great way of stirring action and focussing on positive solutions, rather than overwhelming people with the scale of the plastic waste issue.

Taking the next steps

If food and drinks are sold at the event, try and minimise any single-use plastic. Our events cards have some ideas on how to do this. Many groups make popcorn using bulk food store ingredients and serve in reusable bowls and cups or use paper bags.

If people bring their own snacks or drink encourage them to avoid single-use plastic and promote this in the lead-up to the event. Encourage people to bring reusable water bottles and make sure refills are available or simply share ideas such as reusable containers or wax wraps as the best solutions for bringing food.

Making an impact:

• By helping build awareness of the problems of plastic and the solutions, you’ll no doubt see people stirred to take action.
• People are likely to encourage their friends, colleagues, and family members to get on board too. That means impacts will reach beyond the attendees of the event.

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Join (or create) a group of like-minded people in your community during Plastic Free July.

How you can do it

Finding your tribe can really help you to stay motivated to avoid single-use plastic. It’s great to have like-minded people you can bounce ideas off, share challenges with, and discuss ways that you can continue to grow your impact!

Before you go hunting for a group to join, have a chat with your family, friends, and colleagues about Plastic Free July. You never know, there could be people already in your life who want to make changes to reduce plastic waste. Almost everyone wants to do the right thing for the environment. For some it’s about protecting marine life, others want to reduce litter, many want to reduce our eco-footprint or just waste less, and just about all of us need some ideas and motivation to get started.

You can also go beyond your immediate circle by doing a shout out on social media. It can be through a post, or by changing your profile picture to include our Plastic Free July frame, to show others that you’re participating in the challenge.

To find a group to join (either by yourself or with your newly-enlisted friends), check out local buy-nothing groups, bulk food stores, meetups and community gatherings. Many communities already have established groups, that most likely would be happy to have another member on board.

Taking the next steps

Finding your tribe is one thing, gathering them is another. To get the most out of a group, many people organise a hang out at a park, local cafe, community centre, or wherever works for you. Together, you can discuss ideas for reducing plastic at home and in your community.

Engaging with your local government, shops, school or community groups is a great way of sparking change. You’ll be more effective when you share solutions to reducing plastic waste and can show that a group of like-minded individuals are adopting these ideas.

The Impact

• Connecting with like-minded people can help turn an idea from inception to action, and make refusing single-use plastic easier to do and easier to inspire with others.

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