By Alison Quill, Senior Circulation Librarian
In keeping with our Summer Reading theme of Read, Renew, Repeat, what better way to look beyond the book in being environmentally conscious, than participating in the Plastic Free July challenge! Going completely plastic free can be daunting, especially once you realize how much plastic is used in everyday items. However, the Plastic Free Foundation has great resources and guides on how to take first steps in eliminating single use plastic from your daily lives. The Foundation encourages people from all over the world to participate in a Plastic Free July, in order to help curb the increasing amount of single use plastic that gets thrown away. Even just changing one way in which you accumulate single use plastic can make a big difference.
Some personal, permanent changes I have made:
- Reusable bags for all of my errands
- Filling a reusable bottle at home and bringing it out with me everywhere (to avoid needing to buy a plastic bottled beverage)
- Having one hand soap dispenser that I refill
- Putting my meals/snacks for work in reusable glass containers instead of plastic baggies/wrap
My next step is to find some reusable produce bags, so I can stop using the plastic ones provided at the grocery store.
It’s important for our environment and health that we take steps to scale back the amount of single use plastic, and Summer is the perfect time to put this to practice. And if you’re interested in exploring other ways to be environmentally conscious, please join us at the Lynnfield Public Library to hear about Gardening Water Wisdom: Save Water, the Environment, and Money! on Tuesday, July 9 at 6:30pm. As always, check out our Event Calendar for more details!