Join TheHungryJPEG's Challenge For Plastic Free July: Personal Refuse For Global Change

We believe in small changes!

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Have you heard about Plastic Free July? It’s a global movement where millions of people choose to refuse every single plastic item during the entire 31 days of July.

It’s hard to imagine a world without plastic! But hold on, everything starts from small steps. You can’t wake up and totally change your plastic usage habit. Don’t be hard on yourself because it won’t be easy! But it will get easier when there’s a motivational community. Join us at TheHungryJPEG to see which of these steps you can start practicing! 😉

On this journey, we’ll guide you from taking zero action to adopting a zero waste habit!

But, what is zero waste exactly about?

Many people think zero waste is all about eliminating any unfriendly alternatives. According to this science-backed explanation, “zero waste is a philosophy of eliminating the generation of materials that have no viable or economic option for end-of-use management.” Ultimately, zero waste is not about throwing away unnecessary stuff. It’s all about not buying it at the beginning!

Also, the zero waste lifestyle is basically a small step-by-step process, where you begin by gradually reducing things that are the easiest to get rid of first, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of complete reduction!

This is a challenge for you and everyone at TheHungryJPEG!

“Download the images & check off any plastic item(s) you commit to refuse!”

It’ll take some getting used to, we know. Maybe there are some plastic items you can’t live without or can’t figure out how to substitute them. No worries! We do have three levels that you could go through from the easiest to the most challenging. Think of it this way – you’ve chosen to act.

Check out our Fabulist visual guide below on which levels you can choose to act on.

Commit to the time!

As above, download and check those options viable to your zero waste commitment. The team at TheHungryJPEG have agreed on challenging ourselves with the Easy level for all of 2019; the Difficult level for all of July and the Challenging level for 1 week. For sure living without bin liners will be a major struggle for all of us! 😀

We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, though! Explore the following visual to gauge your zero waste commitment.

Be prepared, of course!

Once you choose to refuse it means you have to find other alternatives to replace the plastics you’ve said no to.

Bring your own reusable bags!

Quick tips:

– Buy purse/pocket sized reusable bags that you can keep on hand for emergencies.

– Choose a pretty one that you’ll love bringing everywhere!

2. Buy a reusable water bottle!

Would you go the extra mile to avoid using single-use plastic water bottles? Hit up a store right away and purchase a reusable water bottle that you can use for the rest of your life! The materials should be from steel, glass or safe aluminium.

Sometimes, you might forget to bring your bottle with you. So what if you’re thirsty? Just pop into any cafe, ask for a glass of water and enjoy your zero waste feeling!

3. Bring your own reusable alternative: steel straws, cutlery and containers

Tip:

State that you want your drinks, food or takeaway without plastic items as you order.
Stick to an adorable one! Why? We know it’s pretty inconvenient to bring small stuff along everywhere. The best way is to be motivated by their appearance. Looking at how cute they are will help you remember to bring it along!
You’re almost at the most difficult level of zero waste by bringing your own container when going grocery shopping. Getting everything packed nicely in your own reusable containers could lighten your day!

4. Switch from using long-life cartons to glass bottles

Our team’s kinda struggling with this one. It’s because every supermarket sells milk and juices in plastic coated cartons. But thankfully we found some alternatives:

Look for glass bottles. You could also get a small discount during the next purchase if you return the glass back to the seller. So don’t forget to ask!
We all seem to be struggling with life conveniences, but thinking of making your own juice is actually not that challenging at all. Blend your fruits at night, refrigerate them and bring it with you the next day! 😉

5. Using certified compostable bin liner bags!

We use trash can liners at work and at home. It seems so hard and a lot of work using a naked trash can and washing it as needed. But our team came up with a better solution in our working place: using certified compostable trash can liner bags! It’s like a plastic trash can liner but the amazing part is that it’s biodegradable!

Other money saving tips for zero waste is that you could look for a can with separate reusable trash can liner containers. So once you throw the trash away, you only need to do a bit of washing. This method works well for small trash cans such as for your studying room or working area.

Connect with us and share your story to stay motivated!

Share your story (even if you didn’t manage to stick with zero waste practices) with us at @thehungryjpeg! The whole point of this movement is to raise awareness. Also we need to motivate others and to stay motivated so that we can help push the positive impact of the zero waste movement!

So, make sure to tag us @thehungryjpeg on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and don’t forget to tell us how tough your journey is on the way to become a zero waste! It will be so much fun and a meaningful practice! 😉

Tip: Why not create a zero waste environment for yourself by “SEDUCING” family members, friends to refuse as much plastic as they can? Some challenge above could be a good start for all of us! Most people give up on the zero waste challenge when everyone around them don’t really care about or respond positively for an eco change.

Don’t be hard on yourself, it won’t be easy!

But at least you’re aware of how important your small actions can be! Some challenges could be easy, some might be hard to change entirely. Since zero waste is a small step-by-step process aiming to complete waste reduction for the environment, so that’s why we encourage you to start with small steps first.

And who knows, in various challenges you could find a Fabulist of zero waste for yourself which become your new green routine that you can commit to for the rest of your life!

We know what we are saving now is to save a future us beyond.