Local Governments leading the way in reducing plastic waste

Do you work for a council that is aiming to show leadership on reducing single-use plastics, or wish your council would get more involved on the plastic avoidance issue? 

Waste avoidance is high on the agenda for most councils and municipalities around the world. Being responsible for waste collection, street sweeping and cleaning up public areas means that avoiding plastic waste is a significant opportunity for councils to reduce costs, meet community expectations and contribute to protecting the environment. 

Many local governments already take part in Plastic Free July as a popular and effective way to tackle waste avoidance in their community. In 2020 we introduced the Plastic Free July Council Membership, a comprehensive package of content and assets designed to support local governments and make implementation easier. 

Encouraging local communities to take part in Plastic Free July can make a real difference – in total, 21 kgs per household per year (almost 5%) less waste and recycling were reported at the kerb-side bins from each participant.

In its inaugural year, 33 councils (representing 2.7 million residents) across Australia and New Zealand signed up and reaped the benefits of being an official Plastic Free July Council Member and the program is open again to local governments around the world. With 92% of the global population supporting policies and actions to reduce plastic waste, now is a great time to get involved.

“I thought the whole package was excellent, promo resources and workshops organised, thank you.” Willoughby Council, NSW,  2020 Council Member

In many ways it’s a perfect match: when residents engage with Plastic Free July it delivers outcomes that are important to councils, including:

• A reduction in household waste disposal (the ‘Reduce’ part of Reduce-Reuse-Recycle)
• Support for local businesses that encourage the switch to reusables
• Support for regulations to limit the supply of single-use plastics and other common littered items

Many local governments already engage with the Plastic Free July challenge in some way and have wonderful success stories to share.

To find out more about Membership and how your council can get involved see our Council Membership information page or contact your local council to find out how they will be involved in Plastic Free July this year.

What does the Council Membership include?

The Council Membership provides a comprehensive toolkit of resources, including content and digital assets that are tailored specifically to Councils and their important roles as a conduit to residents, businesses and schools in their area. 

Plastic Free July Council Membership provides a “One-stop-shop” for both waste educators and communications specialists to plan and implement a programme for Plastic Free July, utilising established and effective behaviour change principles. Importantly, it also provides a community of peers from Councils around Australia to share experiences and ideas, and ask questions.

Pricing is based on population. 

Please download our Council Member Information Kit here or contact the Plastic Free July Council Membership Manager Helen Whitkin on 0436 289 541 or projects@plasticfreejuly.org if you have any questions.