Going Plastic Free

Welcome to July – bringing with it sunny days, outdoor adventures, and plenty of events and activities. With all the fun, however comes an increase in single use plastic waste. From plastic water bottles on a hike, to plastic forks and straws from the concession stand at lunch, waste reduction often gives way to convenience while trying to get from place to place on these busy summer days.

At Vivreau, we are committed to replacing the need for single-use plastic waters bottles with our hydration solutions for our clients (as well as our own offices), but this month we decided to step it up in our personal lives as well. Inspired by Plastic Free July, a global movement started in Australia in 2017, we have aimed to reduce our use of all single use plastics, for the month of July (and beyond!).

We each received a starter kit from our partners at Ocean Wise to help us get going, which included alternatives for some of the most commonly used single-use plastics:

• Canvas grocery bag
• A set of reusable steel straws (including cleaning brush, and canvas carrying pouch)
• Two fabric produce bags
• Refillable water bottle

Just by replacing these four items in our day-to-day lives, our company alone could prevent HUNDREDS of single-use plastics from being discarded by the end of the month

We asked some of our employees what they plan to commit to this month, and what they hope to gain from this exciting challenge. We will follow up with each of them once the month is up to see how they did!

Justin

Service Coordinator – Vivreau

Location: Vancouver, Canada

What drives you to commit to reducing your use of single-use plastics at home?

After I started hiking and enjoying the outdoors, I realized I wanted to do my part to protect our environment, and began to take steps to reduce my carbon footprint.

What do you currently do to reduce your carbon footprint/eliminate single-use plastics from your day to day life?

• Compost all food
• Use my traveler S’Well bottle for beverages
• Try to use thrift stores instead of buying new (reduced packaging, transportation,
• Try to keep lights and electronics off
• Keep computer off in office when I’m not in
• Reuse plastic bags (currently each gets used at least twice)
• I only live a short distance from the office, so walk to work every day
• Reduce electricity consumption at home, and am participating in a BC Hydro initiative to reduce consumption by 10%

Goals for plastic free July

• Use less ziplock bags, replacing them with glass storage containers instead
• Using reusable fabric bags for shopping and produce

Tony

Business Development Manager – Vivreau

Location: Los Angeles, California

What drives you to commit to reducing your use of single-use plastics at home?

When I started with Vivreau, my eyes were opened to the magnitude of plastic consumption and I knew I had to make some lifestyle changes of my own.

What do you currently do to reduce your carbon footprint/eliminate single-use plastics from your day to day life?

• Don’t use any single-use plastic bottles
• We have a water filter in our fridge at home where we fill up with great tasting water
• Try to use reusable storage containers rather than ziplock bags
• If we must use plastic bags, we try to reuse each one as much as possible

Goals for plastic free July

• Use reusable cups for beverages
• Use reusable straws for smoothies
• Be more aware of my use of single use plastics in my day-to-day living
• Make use of my new plastic-free kit – I will put the reusable produce bags and shopping bag to good use!
• Spread the word to my networks on how to reduce plastic consumption