Choose to ‘walk the talk’ and reduce plastic waste within the offices of your local government, council or municipality.

How you can do it

Start by taking a look at the single-use plastics that you use in your organisation. A good place to start is with a bin audit. This helps to understand the plastics currently being used, and to identify solutions.

Once you’ve established what you want to tackle, it can help to form a green team with like-minded people. Together, discuss what things you can do to ensure you’re not only ‘talking the talk’, but also ‘walking the talk’ when it comes to using alternatives to single-use plastics.

Elected members can be really valuable to talk to, especially since there is so much concern about about plastic waste in the community. Share with them the solutions to  the issues of plastic pollution, and encourage them to take part in Plastic Free July.

Bringing local government staff and elected members together with a plastic free lunch is a great platform for discussing ideas and solutions. The Plastic Free July at work cards shares more ideas.

Taking the next steps

To keep the momentum going, review local government-run events and consider whether you’re doing all you can to reduce single-use plastics. We have some great solutions for running plastic free events if you need some inspiration.

Another thing to consider is reviewing your procurement policies. This way, you can join with thousands of local governments that are working to avoid plastic from coming into the community.

Once you’ve considered the organisation’s internal plastic consumption, it’ll be easier to begin to influence the wider community.

The Impact

• local governments that practice what they preach can have a much greater impact on the wider community.
• Modelling sustainable behaviours is a great way to encourage change within others.
• local government events are often effective in engaging the community. By reducing the single-use plastic used at these events, you can have an impact both on the environment, and the habits of the people attending.

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Host events to engage the local community and empower them to refuse single-use plastics.

How you can do it

Planning a plastic free workshop, talk, or event may seem overwhelming from the outset, but it really doesn’t have to be. Starting small is a great way to introduce the idea to the community and learn what works before you hit the ground running.

To make sure your first event is a success, gather a team of like-minded volunteers to help you out. You can also find local community members who are tackling the plastic pollution problem, and invite them to talk about their work. These stories can be very inspiring and positive, especially if they present empowering ideas that participants can adopt to be part of the solution.

It’s important to consider what’s going to be most useful for your community. For example, in areas without plastic bag bans, reusable bag making workshops have had widespread impact in many communities.

Whatever type of event you run, remember to highlight the benefits of plastic free living, and keep it positive and solutions-focussed. It’s also essential that you walk the talk, and make sure that the events you run are plastic free.

The workshops and talks you run can empower people with the tools they need to talk to their friends, family and colleagues about plastic free solutions. This will spread the message even further, and continue to have a multiplier effect.

Taking the next steps

After running a few small events, you should have more of an idea of what works well within your community. People will now be more open to the idea of plastic free living, and willing to attend more in-depth workshops or start up projects of their own.

You can share ideas on how people can make their own soap, toothpaste, deodorant, and a whole host of other plastic free alternatives.

Cooking workshops are also great, as they can empower people with the skills to cook using ingredients that aren’t packaged in plastic (home made cakes, bread and meals don’t come plastic wrapped!).

The Impact

• Empowering people with the skills to reduce plastic in their daily lives will assist them to implement practices at home. They’re more likely to encourage friends, family members, and colleagues to get on board, meaning your impact is multiplied.
• Prioritising plastic free events also demonstrates the local government’s values, which can generate further positivity within the community.  

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Review local policies to reduce plastic waste from government, business and community.

How you can do it

Most local governments start their Plastic Free July journey by engaging the community in activities such as a plastic free morning tea, running practical workshops and showing how events can be plastic free.

Once reducing plastic waste has become part of what your community does, it makes it easier to discuss with the key decision makers which policies could be amended to assist local governments to go plastic free.

One easy win for most local governments is making amendments to internal procurement policies to require sourcing of goods and catering with less single-use plastic packaging. This demonstrates that the local government is walking the talk, and show how easy it can be to go plastic free.

Taking the next steps

After introducing the idea to your community and introducing better practices within the local government, you can begin to engage the community to make changes to other policies.

Many local governments have banned smoking in public places and the release of helium balloons for ceremonial purposes. These two items commonly impact wildlife and are significant sources of litter.

Another impactful policy change is around events. Increasingly vendors and event organisers are required to avoid single-use plastics such as disposable cups, plates and cutlery. Our events cards include ideas for reducing plastic waste.

The impact

• Local policies  reflect community values that support reducing waste, caring for the environment and doing the right thing. They can be useful for bringing people together on common goals.
• Local governments and municipalities often have the power to regulate on issues that meet the aspirations of the broader community.

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Share Plastic Free July solutions with your community of householders, shoppers, retailers, schools and community groups.

How you can do it

Before engaging with the community, it’s important to make sure you’re walking the talk, too. Check out our local government uptake card to find ideas and solutions for how you can avoid single-use plastics as a local government.

Many local governments kick-start conversations by hosting plastic free morning tea with volunteers and local community groups. Local community groups are often a great place to start because they are interested in sharing ideas to make the community a better place. Read our case studies for inspiration on how others have done this.

Some local governments engage their community in Plastic Free July because of concerns about plastic waste and litter. Joining the challenge is a way to be part of the solution. To spread the word even further, think about normal avenues in which you’d reach out to households, schools, and businesses. Can you include Plastic Free July events, ideas and stories through a local newspaper advertisement, a newsletter, or event? You can purchase a local government package to help out with these endeavours.

For a more hands on approach, some local governments host a series of workshops sharing ideas on how to go plastic free. This can empower community members, households, businesses, and schools to be part of the solution.

Taking the next steps

One local government created a working group with the local business association to introduce the plastic free message to their business community. Through this forum they were able to propose a plastic straw free initiative that the whole business community endorsed. This has stopped hundreds of thousands of plastic straws from being used each year, and less litter too!

Many schools are keen to engage in Plastic Free July, especially when they feel part of a local movement. Reach out to schools in the local area and share our schools card to help inspire change amongst local students, teachers, and parents.

The impact

• Local governments have the ability to engage people from all walks of life. Getting them on board with Plastic Free July can inspire a community to go plastic free.

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