Eliminating plastic waste is the goal that two student employees at the Ridge Meadows Recycling Society have set for July.
The idea stems from an Australian non-profit foundation called Plastic Free July which has made its way to the Ridge Meadows Recycling Society in Maple Ridge.
Jamie Robinson and Taylor Robinson, summer students at the Recycling Society, have taken on the challenge to see how plastic-free they can live throughout the month.
The logistics are simple – reduce plastic waste, but putting the plan to action isn’t easy.
Both students are holding on to any plastic waste they do use and will compare their results at the end of the month. Taylor Robinson said she did well in the first few days despite being tempted by a rootbeer lollipop.
“The very first day, A&W handed me a rootbeer flavoured lollipop — I love root beer! So I’m eating this lollipop and holding a piece of plastic.”
The lollipop wrapper is one of the few pieces of plastic in Taylor Robinson’s small collection, along with a Band-Aid, the lid to a container and a piece of ribbon.
Jamie Robinson adds that the challenge has opened her eyes to the amount of plastic being discarded daily.
“I’ve always been uncomfortable with my plastic consumption so getting to do this has been pretty cool. It’s definitely added to the discomfort I feel when I see plastic everywhere,” said Jamie Robinson.
Taylor Robinson said there are four plastic products that are the simplest to eliminate.
“The biggest ones are plastic bags, Saran wrap, straws and take-out cups. They’re all really easy to replace.”
They created a Facebook group called Ridge Meadows Plastic Free July to engage the community during their plastic-free endeavours. During the month, they plan to post their challenges and successes, make video tutorials of homemade products, and give tips to anyone wanting to go plastic-free.
“When people see me doing plastic-free July, they feel bad about their plastic use and they make a difference because they see me making a difference,” said Taylor Robinson.
Taylor Robinson said plastic-free consumer products are hard to come by, so they’ve resorted to making their own. If they must purchase store-bought products, they look for things with the least amount of packaging.
”We really like avoiding the disposable plastics, but we really want to avoid disposables overall,” said Taylor Robinson.
“You have to be crafty,” added Jamie Robinson, who said they’ve made things like reusable bags and deodorant. Toothpaste is the next product they plan to concoct. The challenge remains in it’s early days, but they are determined to reach their eco-friendly goal.
Jamie Robinson and Taylor Robinson are offering tours of the Ridge Meadows Recycling Society this summer. The upcoming tour date is fully booked, but there is still space to attend another tour on Aug. 8 at 4:30 p.m. located at 10092 – 236th Street. Anyone interested, can e-mail Taylor to reserve a spot at taylor@rmrecycling.org