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by Neha Gosalia - Sustainable Queenstown
(Supported by Wastebusters and QLDC’s zero waste district programme)

We can’t get away from it. Catchy, colourful, omnipresent - harder to avoid than Mariah Carey at Christmas time. Supermarket shelves lined with bright beacons of convenience. From necessities to luxuries wrapped in aesthetic, tempting children and adults alike, even seducing us through screens we can’t look away from. Plastic is everywhere.

This Plastic Free July, Sustainable Queenstown wishes to entice you with something brighter and shinier - a better, cleaner future for our community. Choosing better but keeping it real. Tackle one swap at a time and rack small wins in places you already know and go to.

Let’s start with the one that rules them all - a daily ritual for some, or a ‘me-time’ treat - the takeaway coffee (or chai, or hot choccy - you do you, boo). Reusable cup: GOLD STAR. Forgot it again? Cafes like Hustl, Beach Street, and Yonder will loan you an indestructible Chunky cup for a $10 deposit - mine’s been living in my cupholder for years. Some cafes even offer a discount for BYO, which basically pays for your extra shot. Or go radical: sit down, savour the flat white, admire the latte art, compliment your barista.

Good habits tend to snowball. With every cup you keep out of landfill (even the ‘compostable’ ones) your conscience rejoices. Soon there’s always a box or a reusable bag in your car, and your mushrooms are in a reusable mesh produce bag. Yes, a paper bag is recyclable, but it’s still single-use, taking 6 reuses to actually be carbon neutral. ‘Reduce’ and ‘Reuse’ come before ‘Recycle’ for a reason.

We all have our go-to favourite products - we get it. That’s why each week we’re sharing simple swaps on our socials. It’s time to recalibrate your gaze, shake off the convenience autopilot and make the better choice feel like the obvious one. At the cafe, the supermarket, packing lunches, or online shopping for that perfect gift, we’ve got tips to make reducing plastic easy one day at a time.

The best part? Your small wins could actually be big! Click here and submit a photo of your plastic-free actions all month long. Each one enters you into the draw for prizes from our generous local sponsors: Kiwi Park, Chunky, Country Lane, Skyline, Shotover Jet, Altitude Brewing, Better by Bike, and more.

So what are you waiting for? Make the swap. Ditch the plastic. We can help.

Join 200 million others doing Plastic Free July worldwide, who are proving, one choice at a time, that a better future isn’t just possible. It’s already underway. Be part of it.

Follow @sustainablequeenstown to get started.