A NEW campaign aims to encourage householders in Gloucestershire to reduce the amount of single-use plastic they use.

The campaign - called Plastic Free July - will also provide information on what reusable and plastic-free alternatives are available.

It has been launched by the Gloucestershire Resources and Waste Partnership, which is made up of Gloucestershire County Council and the district councils, and follows a campaign in June called Know Your Plastics which aimed to increase the amount of plastic recycled correctly at kerbside.

A GCC spokesperson said: "The majority of plastic waste does not get reused and experts believe that 50 per cent of plastic is single-use, meaning it’s designed to be used once before being discarded.

"This has a huge environmental impact and is a contributor to climate change.

"Single-use plastics include items such as plastic water bottles, plastic packaging, plastic shopping bags and coffee cups."

The campaign will focus on aspect's of everyday life which use a lot of single-use plastic and suggest alternatives including:

Kitchen ideas

Beeswax wraps and plastic containers instead of clingfilm

Buying loose instead of pre-packaged

Bathroom ideas

Plastic-free beauty products, eg shampoo bars

Plastic-free periods, eg period pants, menstrual cups and reusable tampon applicators

On the go

Reusables such as cups, bottles, straws and pint ‘glasses’ to reduce single-use plastic alternatives

In the garden

Promoting composting at home over buying compost in bags

Upcycling (creating new objects from old items) and reusing plastic in the garden

Cllr David Gray, cabinet member for environment and planning, said: “We are committed to creating a Greener Gloucestershire where plastic-free living and reusables are the norm.

"Reducing our reliance on single use plastics is paramount to a sustainable future in Gloucestershire for people and wildlife.

“There are many reusable or plastic-free alternatives you can use so I would encourage everyone to think about how they can reduce single-use plastic.”

A list of shops in Gloucestershire which sell mostly plastic-free items has been compiled and can be found at actiononplastic.org/plastic-free-shopping

Get involved using #GreenerGloucestershire and #plasticfreejuly on social media to share your plastic-free stories, swaps and your reusable alternatives.

For more information on the campaign visit gloucestershirerecycles.com/plastics