You’re probably about to roll your eyes and think ‘here she is, harping on about plastic again’…well yes, I am at it again but if it got Sir David Attenborough onto the stage at Glastonbury, then I’m pretty sure it’s a hot topic! So, I’m going to revel in the fact I’m on trend for once and possibly help you to save the planet from your own home…go me!
Plastic Free July is a global initiative encouraging everyone to reduce their consumption of single use plastics throughout the whole month of July.
Plastic Free July is a great idea but it does seem a bit daunting, especially as plastics seem to crop up EVERYWHERE (yes, I’m STILL not over the teabag revelation).
Your family might use plastic straws, water bottles, and bags for just a few minutes but, those items don’t disappear when they’re thrown out. Single use items like these account for more than 40% of plastic waste, and each year 8.8 million tonnes of plastic waste flows into our oceans. Unfortunately there’s no positive spin on this, it’s endangering wildlife, polluting the water and putting human health at risk!
The stats are frightening, but you’ve got a secret weapon to curb your family’s plastic use: your kids!
Many children care deeply about wildlife and they certainly don’t want to watch a sea turtle suffocate from a plastic straw, or see a seahorse clinging onto a cotton bud. From a young age most kids seem to understand that they are inheriting the planet and that it’s their responsibility to look after it. Small changes to your family’s routine can empower your children to make a real difference in the fight against plastic.
Get them started with these top tips:
Keep it Real
Keep reminding yourself that every piece of plastic you choose to refuse is a win! Don’t give yourself a hard time if you can’t manage to massively reduce all your plastic use…simply remembering to take your own bags to the supermarket is a great start. Give each of your kids a reusable shopping bag and they can help to pack at the checkout. Nothing wrong with a bit of child labour!
Singing out for the Summer
At the ice-cream shop, always choose a cone over a tub and plastic spoon…whether you have a flake or not is still your call! Take it further by helping your children to talk to the owner/manager about switching to compostable utensils. Your kids might just be cute enough to change someone’s stance.

If you’re planning a trip to the beach, make sure those plastic buckets and spades, beach balls, and inflatable flamingoes don’t float out to sea. Put your kids in charge of tracking their items and making sure all the toys are back in the car at the end of the day.

It’s festival season, grab some eco glitter! We have been using it for a little while now, it’s slightly more powdery in texture but I’m sure you’ll feel happier knowing your children’s faces are covered in plant based particles instead of microplastics. Read my other post for more tips on how to make your festival season more sustainable.
Or go the extra mile and invest in a ready made eco festival kit like this one we were kindly gifted to take along to our festivals this Summer. Available from Pic ‘n’ Mix it contains everything you need for a plastic free weekend of festival fun!


Order yours using code PNMDINO10 for 10% off. Click HERE

Going for a picnic? Instead of packing your sandwiches in plastic food bags, reach for reusable wrappers made of cloth or waxed paper. Then toss an apple or a banana in the bag instead of a plastic-wrapped snack.
Leave baby wipes for cute little bottoms and take a dampened face cloth out with you in a wash bag for mucky hands and faces! This is also a great tip for hot Summer days as you can pop it into the freezer the night before and it doubles as a cool soother on the forehead or back of the neck when your littles are out and about.
Pick it up
We’re parents, seriously how much time do we spend in parks and playgrounds? Pick up 3 pieces of litter/plastic every time you visit and take it home to dispose of it correctly, recycling where possible. Get the kids involved and join a community litter pick near you, Stanley was all about the grabber when we did one a few months back!

Wear it Out
Buy second hand plastic toys from local selling sites. If things need to be made of plastic let’s make sure they are well used before they are discarded!
Equally, donate or sell on once the toys have been outgrown. Playgroups, nursery’s, your local café, and doctors surgery will be grateful for a handful of toys to keep little ones entertained.
Work it!
Have you got a water fountain at work? Encourage colleagues to bring in reusable cups to keep at their desk and ban the disposable plastic cup from the office.
Little Green Fingers
Get the kids into gardening, it’s a great excuse for them to get dirty and they will love eating goodies (strawberries, peas, carrots, potatoes are all kiddy friendly as a starting point) that they’ve grown themselves.
Join a local kids gardening club if you don’t have the space at home. Read about our experience of our local club here.

Be Supermarket Savvy
What’s your family’s favourite meal? What do you cook most often? Make one meal completely plastic free by sourcing plastic free ingredients. Some supermarkets are now happy to wrap your purchases from the deli/butchers counters etc straight into your own containers.
Google It
Learn where plastic is hidden, do I need to mention the teabags again? Additional rambling: I’ve actually stopped drinking tea, I’m not sure if it’s the whole plastic revelation thing or that I never got back into it fully after my last pregnancy? Who knows, but it’s cut a tiny bit more plastic out here. Talk to your kids about reducing plastic, what changes you will all need to make as a family and why.
Plastic Projects
Make ecobricks with the kids, my boys really enjoyed doing this and it’s a great project for schools and kids clubs etc to get involved with too.

What is an ecobrick?
An ecobrick is a plastic bottle packed with plastic to a set density to create a reusable building block. Ecobricks are used to make modular furniture, garden spaces and full-scale buildings such as schools and houses.

Whine and Dine
Buy a reusable straw, pop it in your handbag and take it with you. Same goes with a reusable cup, most coffee houses will reduce the price you pay if you’re using your own cup so you’ll save some pennies too…happy days!
If your eating out try and avoid buying kids plastic bottled drinks (I know, I know it’s easier said than done when they’re about to go postal in a VERY public place…may the odds be ever in your favour!) and instead ask for a glass of squash and whip out your straws.
Ban the Bottle
Let each of your kids select a reusable water bottle, then give them the responsibility of hanging onto it. Look for other bottles in your home that can be banished. For example, let them choose their own bar of soap instead of purchasing a bottle of liquid soap for the bathroom. Sames goes for shampoo and conditioner.
And Finally…
Did you know it only takes 21 days of doing something new for it to become a habit? If every family could introduce one small change in their plastic consumption and then make it a habit, our planet will be heading towards a much brighter future.

Good luck!
All images are my own unless otherwise credited.
Disclaimer: We were gifted our Eco Festival Kit in return for coverage across my blog and social media channels.
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Lots of great tips 😀 We’ve been focussing on picnics , packing them in a stackable Tupperware rather than disposable plastic . I’ve just seen the other day a recipe for wax food wraps in The Week Junior Magazine that my son has so i’m Going to have a go at making those!
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We’ve got some wax food wraps and they’re amazing. Let me know how you get on with making them!
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What awesome tips! It’s madness just how much plastic builds up. We keep trying to do our little bit to cut down. 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing with #MMBC. x
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There are some really great tips here and the secret is definitely to get children involved in thinking about plastic use from a young age. I’m fascinated by the eco-bricks. I’ve never seen them before but they’re a great idea!
#MMBC
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They’re good fun to make although you have to be patient and keep going until they get up to weight. It’s amazing how much plastic you can stuff into them!
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Some great tips here that everyone can follow! We are doing our best, and i’m training the kids at the supermarket to pick the loose fruit and veg rather than the packaged ones. We are using homemade beeswax wraps too and the kids love them! Thanks again for linking up with #KidsandKreativity, hope to see you back next time.
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Plastic really is absolutely everywhere and it’s so hard to avoid it but these are great tips for helping to reduce some of our plastic consumption. We are getting better at packing picnics and using reusable containers and water bottles and I’m now trying to switch to washable wipes to go with the cloth nappies that we already use. So important to try and reduce our plastic consumption. #KidsandKreativity
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It’s really hard to keep on top of these things when you’re a parent, but it’s so good to be aware of the little things you can do and simple changes you can make, to help.
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I think the ice-cream cone vs tub is a simple one everyone can get behind!
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Popping back over from Kids and Kreativity! I really need to invest in some eco glitter for Just So! And I’m still not over the tea bag revelation either – I cant believe it! #KidsandKreativity
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I’ll be bringing some if you want me to glitter you up! #teabaggate
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I never thought about the ice cream cone instead of a cup and spoon, that’s one change I can make immediately! #DreamTeam
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A tasty one too! #winning
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Some fantastic ideas here… I could definitely start adopting some of these ideas. Thank you
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That’s great to hear, thank you for taking the time to read!
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With you on this. Doing too much is overwhelming, but little bits work. Great getting the kids on board.
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Small steps make a big difference! Glad you enjoyed reading!
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Love this.
We are a family who is trying to cut back on plastic waste. We get our milk delivered in glass bottles, I have even switched squash to glass bottles too. I have reused plastic spray bottles for cleaning with the iron and velvet water-soluble sachets, I order SMOL laundry and dishwasher capsules, plus I get our toilet roll from Who Gives A Crap. It is definitely a gradual stage but the first step is always being aware and trying to swap one thing. 🙂 #dreamteam
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Oh wow you are way ahead of us, well done that’s amazing! We have started reusing bottles and buying refill sachets then using the plastic sachets in our ecobricks if it can’t be recycled.
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wow this looks so much fun!!
Jadieegosh
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Some great tips, my kids definitely consider themselves my secret weapons in the war on plastic, they are always pointing out ways we could avoid it! Still need to invest in some bamboo toothbrushes though.
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Thank you! We have bamboo toothbrushes and the kids still have plastic all singing, flashing, 2 minute timing toothbrushes! I’m picking my battles
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So many great suggestions on how to reduce our usage of plastic. I sometimes don’t realize how much plastic there is around un until I really start paying attention. Thanks for sharing and reminding me to be more intentional with choosing plastic alternatives.
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Thanks for reading, glad you found it helpful 👍🏻
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I’m starting to slowly switch to less plastics but it’s amazing how much things come in plastic packaging, contains plastic, etc. A lot of Noah’s toys are plastic (he does have some wooden too) but they will be donated/sold once they aren’t longer of use to him. Loads of helpful tips there though, thanks for sharing.
#TwinklyTuesdays
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We have loads of plastic toys! There’s no avoiding it when it comes to kids sadly, but if we make sure it’s well used and passed on then it’s keeping it out of landfill for longer! Every little helps!
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A wonderful read. We are trying to be more plastic free but we might try plastic free August to start. Thank you for all the wonderful tips. I absolutely love the name of your blog too! Xx
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We’re trying, some weeks we do better than others but there are a few bits we’ve stuck to now. And thank you, the name basically describes what I can see on my living room carpet once the boys have been busy! 😂
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Some fantastic tips. We are trying our best to reduce our plastic. I’ve been recommended good shampoo and conditioner bars and so as soon as my current bottle of shampoo is out I’m going to take the leap and give it a go!
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Yaay! I’ve got some ready to go too. Let me know how you get on, I’ve heard they can take some getting used to!
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I’ve heard that too. Apparently you have to get used to the fact they don’t lather up like regular shampoo does.
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I’ll be looking into those amazing kits! I’ve recently begun my eco-friendly journey so giving your wonderful little blog a follow too!
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Thank you! The kit is great, there’s a lot in there. I’ll be writing up a review once I’ve used everything. So far we’ve only used the glitter (plus aloe fixing gel) and the straw. But with two more festivals booked in I’m sure it wont be long.
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Such a crisp post on reducing plastic usage. I love the ideas!
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Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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So many great tips here! Definitely will be trying to reduce our plastic consumption as a family.
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Thank you, I’m glad you found it helpful. Good luck!
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Love these tips. It can be soooo overwhelming to know where to start, especially when plastic seems to be everywhere. But I absolutely agree with you about starting with small changes and not beating yourself up. Once you’ve made a few small changes and see how easy it was, you can go for a few more. It all adds up. myanxiouslife.co.uk
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Exactly! I think if you start small and keep to it then you’re on the right track and it doesn’t become a chore!
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ThIs is a great post! It’s scary just how much plastic we use on a daily basis. Definitely going to follow some of your tips!
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It’s just everywhere! More and more people are becoming aware though which is great news!
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