Plastic Free July Prayer
Dear Lord,
May you guide us to care for this earth and treat it with the love with which it was created. Allow us to preserve it for future generations. To reduce our plastic consumption. To reuse what we already have. To recycle what no longer serves a purpose. May we do this for a better world so that we can fulfil our purpose as stewards of the earth and the animals within it. Amen.
Knowledge
July’s editions of YLBG will be focused on Plastic Free July. Our Plastics Taskforce has sent letters to many asking for your participation. I hope you will join us by examining your plastic use and make a difference with your actions.
I thought our last Plastic Free July edition of YLBG could focus on alternatives to plastic. For those who have seen the PFJ table in our Health Center, you may have seen most of my ideas. For those who have not, there are many easy ways you can begin to eliminate plastic. It’s a big change, but getting started is easy.
Remember, there is no such thing as disposable plastic! Just because you can put it in the garbage or recycling, it doesn’t mean you have disposed it. Recycled items are made into something else, but it’s still here. Plastic in a landfill will sit for 100s of years, breaking down into microplastics and flowing into food and water systems.
As we bring Plastic Free July to a close, I hope you will carry on the things you learned and any new habits you have formed. Let’s turn off the plastic tap and make our world cleaner and less toxic for our children.
Action
A few PFJ options:
Personal:
How did you do in week 2 of the Plastic Free July Challenge? What can you change for week 3?
Professional:
How can you reduce or eliminate plastic where you work? How do you pack your lunch? Maybe eliminate zipper bags and cling wrap? Use containers and beeswax wraps.
In the World:
Our personal choices are important. But, large scale change will come when corporations and politicians are on board. Eliminating plastic bags is one easy thing we can do immediately. Advocating for a plastic bag ban in your state is a great cause!
Our own Plastics Taskforce is working on actions and solutions. Email us at [email protected]