{"id":71407,"date":"2025-07-14T11:23:41","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T15:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=71407"},"modified":"2025-07-16T14:42:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T18:42:07","slug":"this-plastic-free-july-lets-end-the-age-of-plastic-for-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/story\/71407\/this-plastic-free-july-lets-end-the-age-of-plastic-for-good\/","title":{"rendered":"This Plastic Free July, let\u2019s end the age of plastic for good!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Picnic season has started, and so has Plastic Free July<\/a>! All around the world, people are taking on the month-long challenge to avoid as much single-use plastics as possible. With more than 170 million participants every year, it\u2019s clear that people are motivated to dodge plastic and seek alternatives. However, despite best efforts, it’s extremely hard for most people to avoid plastic products and packaging, so we need to shift the system, and that means urging governments to end the age of plastic once and for all!<\/p>\n\n

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A giant toroa \/ albatross with a 10-metre wing-span is installed by Greenpeace Aotearoa volunteers on the iconic Mission Bay beach in Auckland New Zealand to call on the New Zealand government to take action on plastic pollution and commit to support a stronger Global Plastics Treaty of 75% plastic reduction by 2040 ahead of the 3rd Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC3) in Nairobi, Kenya on November 13th.
\u00a9 Ben Sarten \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Let\u2019s be honest, we are not responsible for the billions of single-use plastic items pumped into our lives each week. Plastic is everywhere – in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the clothes we wear. We ingest about the equivalent of a credit card of microplastics every week, and these tiny particles of plastic have found their way to our blood and brains<\/a>. Scientists are only beginning to understand the long-term effects of plastics on our health, but many of the chemicals present in plastic are linked to serious health issues such as endocrine disruption, insulin resistance, decreased reproductive health, and cancer<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

That is why this Plastic Free July, we\u2019re demanding action from corporations and governments. We need companies to phase out single-use plastics, stop using harmful chemicals, and roll out accessible reuse and refill systems. Businesses across Canada and the world are championing this change, but the biggest plastic polluters still need the biggest push. Coca-Cola, producing more than 110 billion plastic bottles a year and being the number one polluter of branded plastic found in the environment<\/a>, recently ditched its goal to increase reusable packaging to 25% of the company\u2019s sales by 2030<\/a>. And meanwhile, other major global brands have stalled out and even regressed on commitments<\/a> that were weak to begin with.<\/p>\n\n

People are calling for bold action on plastic pollution: over 70% of Canadians are in favor of cutting plastic production, while as many as 8 out of 10 support a transition away from single-use plastic packaging to reusable and refillable packaging<\/a>. Nearly 90% want the federal government to get toxic chemicals out of plastic products, and more than 8 out of 10 support Canada-wide action on plastic pollution<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

As Canada is preparing for the last round of negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty in Geneva, Switzerland, next month<\/a>, we are hoping that our voices are being heard: we need a treaty that cuts production, phases out single-use plastics, eliminates harmful chemicals and products, and advances reuse-based solutions while centering human rights and respecting Indigenous Rights and Knowledge. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to stop plastic pollution and protect our health, our rights, our communities, our biodiversity and our climate. Let\u2019s not waste it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

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A supermarket with bulk items in an effort to reduce single use plastics.
\u00a9 Tim Aubry \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n


We have the solution to plastic pollution: turning off the plastic tap and speeding up a shift to a healthier, reuse-based future. Last month, a study found that plastic bag policies can lead up to 47% reduction of bag litter on shorelines<\/a>. A 50% increase in refillables in coastal countries could reduce the number of waste PET bottles entering the ocean by 86%<\/a>. Major brands and supermarket chains are coming together to test a city-wide reuse system in Ottawa<\/a>, offering hope for more accessible reuse solutions. And these are just a few examples that help us envision a plastic-free future for all. But to make that reality, we need a strong Global Plastics Treaty. So this Plastic Free July, let\u2019s call on the Canadian government to secure a strong treaty that will help us to live sustainably\u2026 every day of the year!<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n \t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTell Canada to support a strong Global Plastics Treaty\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

If world leaders get it right, a strong Global Plastics Treaty has the potential to end the age of plastic \u2013 for good. Join the campaign now!<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t \n Take action\n <\/a>\n \t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Picnic season has started, and so has Plastic Free July! All around the world, people are taking on the month-long challenge to avoid as much single-use plastics as possible. With…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":71408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"This Plastic Free July, let\u2019s end the age of plastic for good!","p4_og_description":"Picnic season has started, and so has Plastic Free July! We need to shift the system, and that means urging governments to end the age of plastic once and for all!","p4_og_image":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2025\/07\/7cea0412-gp0styakd_low-res-800px.jpg","p4_og_image_id":"71408","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[71],"p4-page-type":[16],"class_list":["post-71407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-plastics","tag-plastic","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71407"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71415,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71407\/revisions\/71415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71407"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=71407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}