Tioga County Plastic Free Day is June 29

Plastic is a part of our everyday lives. If you look around, plastic is everywhere. Some of this plastic is meant to be used over and over again for a long time. Unfortunately, much of the plastic we use is only used once for a very short amount of time. 

So what’s the big deal? Does it even matter what type of bag you use to carry your groceries home? This is just one small example of a decision you make on a regular basis that can have a very positive or a very negative impact on our environment. 

New Yorkers use 23 billion plastic bags annually and approximately 50 percent of single-use plastic ends up as litter. Plastic waste is not the only problem. A lot of energy and resources are used to create plastic in the first place. 

Take plastic water bottles, for example. From producing the bottle, to filling it with water, to transporting it to stores, and then to your home, creating bottled water takes 2,000 times the energy required to produce clean, drinkable tap water! 

It’s probably impossible to totally eliminate plastic from our lives, but there are important steps we can take to reduce the amount of plastic we use.

Join us in our ‘Plastic Free Day’ challenge by making a pledge to go single-use plastic free for 24-hrs on June 29. Our aim is to raise awareness of how much single-use plastic we use in our everyday lives. 

What would you refuse? Items such as plastic straws, plastic bags, and plastic utensils; instead, switch to a reusable water bottle, reusable shopping bags or cardboard boxes, shop at Farmer’s Market – support local produce, choose loose fresh products rather than pre-packed items, use reusable storage containers preferable glass or metal containers, use a thermal mug for coffee shop rather than Styrofoam containers, refuse to use a straw or use reusable stainless steel straws, and many more.

If you want to learn more on how you can make a difference in our environment, contact Ellen Pratt at (607) 687-8274 or email to pratte@co.tioga.ny.us.

These businesses and organizations have pledged to support and promote our campaign: the Tioga County Legislature, Tioga County Tourism, Tioga County Public Health, Carolyn’s Quilting, Tioga County Recycling, and Taylor Garbage Service Inc.