Plastic Free July in Bulgaria! Thousands of Bulgarians will live without plastic in July

The Plastic-Free July initiative is being held as part of the global movement to combat single-use plastics #BreakFreeFromPlastic.

We at "Tierra Verde Bulgaria" support the cause wholeheartedly and will participate in the event with a lecture on the topic "WASTE-FREE SHOPPING AND FOOD STORAGE - recommendations and solutions without plastic".

According to Eurostat data, each Bulgarian throws away an average of 64 kg of packaging waste per year. The main culprits for the pollution of the Black Sea are plastic bottles and their caps, plastic packaging from fast food, as well as plastic bags. Every day, 3 tons of plastic enter the Black Sea from land and rivers.

12 Bulgarian organizations - Ecological Association For the Earth, Greenpeace-Bulgaria, Green Revolution, Food, Not War - Sofia, Zero Waste Sofia, ZERA, Eco Switch, Uneco Eco Club, Lessplastic Bulgaria, Tierra Verde Bulgaria, Urban Gardening - Sofia and Zero Hero, are combining their knowledge and experience into a kind of practical guide to living without plastic in our country. Throughout the month, in a special Facebook event "Plastic free July in Bulgaria", they will share useful information, tips and recommendations they have tested. Some of the topics that will be covered during the month are how to measure our plastic footprint; what are the different types of plastic around us; tips for bulk shopping, all kinds of alternatives to plastic in our everyday lives, how to approach business to make changes and much more.

“Enough scientific data already shows beyond doubt the harms of the unreasonable use of a long-lasting material like plastic. It is time to focus on developing real solutions: for example, reusable, bulk goods and other emerging innovative services and sustainable business models,” the organizers share.

Over 600 people have already signed up to join the “July Without Plastic” initiative even before its official launch. Anyone who wishes to join can register at http://tiny.cc/plasticfreejuly and choose one or more of the following actions:

- replace single-use plastic - straws, cups, bags, utensils, etc., with reusable products;

- not to buy products in plastic packaging;

- completely refuse to use single-use plastic for a day, week, month or more.

The one-year deadline for transposing the Single-Use Plastics Directive into national law begins on Friday, July 3, 2020. It includes a ban on eight types of single-use plastic products: cotton buds, cutlery (forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks), plates, straws, drink stirrers, balloon sticks, polystyrene (expanded polystyrene) food and drink containers, and oxo-degradable plastic. However, other widely used products such as plastic bottles, disposable food containers, so-called 'cardboard' coffee cups with a plastic layer, wet wipes, wafer wrappers, crisp wrappers, and others remain in circulation with the aspirational goal of limiting the quantities used.