During Plastic Free July, people in Kansas City and around the globe are saying no to single-use plastic.
Find out how you can reduce plastic this July by taking the Pesky Plastics Quiz.
The 5-minute quiz, created by Plastic Free July, walks you through your daily consumer choices to reflect on what you are already doing to reduce plastic, and to help you identify new opportunities.
Plastic Free July is an annual global pledge to reduce plastic and see the power of collective action. More than 120 million people worldwide have already committed to reducing their disposable plastic use during July and beyond.
The quiz also helps track the success of the pledge and identifies trends in household plastic use. In 2022, the quiz showed that 88% of people made changes that became habits choosing to refuse single-use plastic after the month of July.
You can sign up for the pledge and take the Pesky Plastics Quiz at plasticfreejuly.org.
Just sharing:
I live on a road that used to be in a rural area and about the only litter was if an empty feed sack blew out of the back of a farmer’s truck. After a subdivision was built about a half mile from me about 20 years ago and that traffic passes by me to get to the highway, the litter has increased at least by 100%. I have a large area of my property that I mow along the road and I always have to pick up the litter before I mow. It used to take me about an hour but now it can be up to 2 hours. I am now a senior citizen and try to tell myself that the exercise is good for me but I need to be more careful. I wear an orange vest and when I’m mowing I have a sign by my driveway warning of mowing being done because drivers can’t see me until they crest the hill. I know many drivers are now on their cell phones so it’s more concerning to me that they aren’t paying attention to their surroundings.
I have picked up all kinds of litter which includes a lot of plastic as well as glass, metal, cardboard and all kinds of tobacco packaging and even food scraps. I also get yard waste that has trash mixed in so I can’t just let it decompose where it is. Ants love to live in discarded pop cans and bottles. I use empty horse and pet food sacks to put the litter in (these sacks can’t be recycled). Years ago, I would try to clean out cans and bottles so they could be recycled, Then people started putting disgusting and unhealthy things in them so I had to stop.
I think people that litter are irresponsible and disrespectable of others and our planet. In my area every resident has to pay for trash pickup and it is included in their water bill so they have an option to dispose of their trash that they have no choice but to pay for, yet they still litter the roads and streets.
Thanks for a place to vent about this besides to my family because they are really tired of hearing me complain about having to clean up other people’s trash.
Trudy LaForce
Smithville, MO 64089