Join us for Plastic Free July at UCL

What is Plastic Free July? 

This year, UCL is taking part in Plastic Free July, a global campaign organised by the Plastic Free Foundation, encouraging everyone to commit to taking actions that reduce plastic consumption at home and on campus. In the UK, it is estimated that we use five million tonnes of plastic every year, of which nearly half is packaging. That’s equivalent to 530 blue whales! By participating in Plastic Free July, together, we can begin to make small changes to our routines that can significantly reduce our plastic consumption. 

How to get involved 

1. Contribute to our plastics reduction database

Complete this short form to feed into our new plastics reduction database and help us understand whether we are close to achieving our goal of becoming a single-use plastic free campus by 2024. The form takes just 2-3 minutes to complete and will ask you about actions you have taken to reduce your plastic footprint at UCL, which in turn helps us to identify the institutional actions that can have the biggest impact. We will also be releasing interactive infographics that allow you to explore the impact of our actions in more detail. 

2. Sign up to Plastic Free July

If you want to take action further, then sign up to the Plastic Free July campaign! When you sign up, you will have the option to commit to different levels of action for any amount of time. Whether you’re choosing to refuse plastic for the first time or you’re a regular at your local zero-waste shop, the Plastic Free July website has lots of insightful tips and tricks to help you get started. For advice and inspiration, you can follow #PlasticFreeJuly on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. 

3. Keep your eyes peeled

Throughout July, we’ll be posting a range of short articles and insights that explore the plastics problem in more depth, so keep an eye on our website and social media channels.

In our Annual Sustainability Report we dedicated an entire section on the progess we've made on our plastics and waste commitments. Check out the entire report here. You'll find the plastics progress on page 12 and 13.