Rebecca Prince-Ruiz: Plastic Free July

Feature image credit: Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, Plastic Free July

Hold on, before you continue reading, look around you. Is there a plastic bottle on your desk? A takeaway container in the kitchen? A wrapper or any other disposable item nearby?

These are the kind of everyday objects Rebecca Prince-Ruiz wants us to stop overlooking. She is the founder who made July the month we question plastic.

So, as you keep reading - what is one piece of single use plastic you could refuse this July?

Questions like this has helped turn Plastic Free July from a small local experiment into a big global movement.

Rebecca was working in waste education and local government in Western Australia when she became concerned about the amount of plastic being sent to landfill. A visit to a waste-sorting facility made the problem impossible for her to ignore. 

So, in 2011, she invited 40 friends and colleagues to try avoiding single use plastic for the month of July. It was an invitation to pay attention to what they were buying, using, and yes, throwing away.

That small group grew to 400 participants, then 4,000. 

You can take part for one day, one week, the entire month or from now on. You can focus on takeaway cups, bottles or another item that regularly appears in your routine.

This campaign went viral because people are more likely to begin when they are invited to try, rather than made to feel guilty for not doing everything.

The Challenge that Refused to Stay Small

The movement eventually became too large to remain a local government initiative. In 2017, the Plastic Free Foundation was established as an independent Australian charity to support Plastic Free July internationally. Prince-Ruiz remains its founder and executive director.

According to their 2025 Impact Report, at least 174 million people across 190 countries participated in Plastic Free July in 2025. 

The campaign now provides resources for workplaces, schools, cafés, businesses, community groups and local governments. 

Why 2026 Is Not Just Another July

Here is their Plastic Free July calendar, with downloadable resources to help you through the month. And you never know, some of these habits might stay with you for much longer.

Perhaps you cannot avoid plastic packaging because the alternatives are unavailable or unaffordable where you live. 

Perhaps medication, accessibility needs or food safety make some plastic essential.

Begin with the plastic you can realistically refuse and notice which changes fit into your routine and which ones expose a larger problem that individuals cannot solve alone.

Rebecca Prince-Ruiz began with 40 people and one month. 

So, which piece of single use plastic will receive your first no this July?