Join us for a Plastic Free July

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Happy Plastic Free July! Welcome to a global campaign which brings awareness to this environmental and health issue. This is a great time to look at your relationship with plastic. Guilt, resentment, resignation, avoidance, anxiety? Is it time to see a little less of each other?

Perhaps when you had children you began to read food labels more carefully. Or as you got older you began to think maybe working on a ladder isn’t a great idea. Or you are encouraged to change your diet for health reasons. In these instances, your attention is brought to risks that you can no longer ignore. When we understand the risks more clearly, we begin making different choices.

Similarly, Plastic Free July asks us to do the same thing. Science is telling us of mounting health risks from microplastics which include cancer and heart disease. We know that plastic waste in our oceans threatens marine life and the health of the oceans. We know plastic waste exacerbates climate change. We know plastics contain “forever chemicals” that can inflict harm for generations. And we know that consumer habits based on convenience and cost are sources of plastic waste, which also means that we consumers have the power to make an impact on this problem!

So this month, I encourage you to choose your own adventure to reduce plastic in your life. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s progress.

Maybe it’s buying the deodorant in a cardboard box or discovering plastic-free kitchen sponges. See if you can go a day without single-use plastic packaging. Or choose one disposable plastic item to replace this month or forever. Plastic produce bags? Are they really necessary? Involve the kids and have a scavenger hunt to find the plastic-free products on the shelf or explore the options at Vashon’s Refill store.

Bring a fresh outlook to your habits and challenge yourself for a day, a week or even the whole month! Visit plasticfreejuly.org for more resources, tips and inspiration.

Every purchase is a vote. When enough people make different choices, manufacturers and retailers pay attention. Small actions, multiplied across hundreds of households, become meaningful change.

And when you are out and about on the island, bring your own clean mug for takeout coffee and spread the word that it’s Plastic Free July.

What is our responsibility to our health, to the oceans and to wildlife? Looking at our plastic use is a good place to start. Joy can be found in collectively building healthier habits, which strengthen our community and our world. Being part of a solution feels good.

We’d love to see your wins on Instagram @chooseplasticfree or hear from you at crrbc@comcast.net. You can also learn more about Choose Plastic Free at zerowastevashon.org/reduce/choose-plastic-free.

Celia Congdon is a long time islander and is a co-leader of Choose Plastic Free.