Plastic Free July®: the most important facts about plastic - NIKIN EU

Plastic Free July®: the most important facts about plastic

Plastic Free July®: no plastic for a whole month. But what is important about that? And how do I live without plastic? We'll tell you!

Plastic by the sea

No plastic for a whole month. That is the initiative of Plastic Free July® .. But what is important about it? Why does it make sense to live plastic-free? In this article you will find facts and interesting facts about the topic and we explain what plastic and fertility have to do with each other.

There are situations where plastic can make sense, for example in the area of food waste, i.e. to protect food. However, there are already alternatives, such as packaging made from sugar cane waste. Giving preference to these alternatives would make sense: in Switzerland alone, 1 million tonnes of plastic are consumed per year and 5000 tonnes of plastic are released into the environment every year.

Plastic mound

Plastic is everywhere
Of the 1 million tonnes of plastic that we consume in this country, 780,000 tonnes is waste, i.e. it is only used once. The rest is used in the long term, for example in building construction. Plastic is not just packaging waste. You also find it in vehicles, households, agriculture and in electrical goods. 90% of the used waste is incinerated, according to astudy commissioned by the federal government in 2020.

Flying plastic

The invisible plastic
While macroplastics are visible and can be easily removed, the invisible microplastics are a big question mark for human and environmental health. This is because, depending on the plastic, it takes up to several hundred years for it to decompose on its own. Macroplastics can be tackled by combating littering and creating awareness among the population and the economy. Microplastics, on the other hand, consist of small pieces of plastic less than 5mm in diameter.

Plastic Facts

Plasticisers reduce fertility
We cannot see the very small plastic parts with the naked eye. Especially when it comes to plastic from packaging and everyday use, caution is advised. This is because plasticisers, also known as phthalates, are found in many objects such as toys. Phthalates are suspected of influencing the hormone balance in humans. According to the FOPH , this has already been confirmed in studies with animals, as fertility was reduced by the microplastics in the animals' bodies. The plasticiser is not chemically bound in the plastic and thus gets into the water (e.g. from PET bottles), into the food (e.g. from cling film) and onto the skin (e.g. from cosmetics).

via GIPHY

Let yourself be inspired!
But how can we use less plastic? What can a plastic-free July look like? You can find lots of ideas at Plastic Free July® as well as with us throughout the month on Instagram. We also offer plastic-free alternatives like the TreeBags and TreeShoppers as well as the different TreeBottles. We hope the content inspires you and that you too can do without plastic here and there. Happy Plastic Free July!

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