Going green in the Circle City: Tips for a plastic-free July

Did you know that Americans alone discard over 30 million tons of plastic annually, with only 8% being recycled? Plastic-free July wants to change that. Indianapolis, like many cities across the nation, faces its share of challenges in tackling plastic pollution. However, small changes in daily habits can lead to significant reductions in plastic waste, benefiting your community and the planet at large. Rebecca Prince-Ruiz is the founder and executive director of Plastic-Free July, a global movement that encourages people to reduce plastic waste. “The foundation’s vision is for a world without plastic waste, and we do that by helping people and organizations take action to choose to refuse single-use plastics and find alternatives,” Prince-Ruiz said. Plastic-free July participants. (Photo/Plastic-free July foundation) In 2021, the plastic-free July campaign encouraged 140 million participants to reduce their plastic waste. The keyword is reduce, not eliminate. Many people think that plastic-free July is about eliminating plastic waste altogether, but it’s not. “Because of millions of people around the world are doing plastic-free July, you’re not alone. So you’re doing it together, and you’re part of this bigger change where it’s lots of people making small changes, and we know that adds up to...