How Aussies can save millions by reducing plastic waste
BRITA announces #FilterForGood pledge to help educate Australians on simple actions to reduce single-use plastic waste in the wake of convenience culture
Whilst the lockdowns and travel bans from COVID-19 may seem long gone, Australia’s plastic pandemic remains a significant issue with over 3.2 million of us admitting to mostly drinking bottled water at home. While this may seem like an innocent act, if every individual consumed one bottle a day for a full year, the total number of single-use bottles used would be 1.17 billion1, costing approximately $620 million2.
New research released from BRITA today has found that the combination of “convenience culture”, apathy for single-use plastic reduction and a lack of education on how to reduce or refuse single-use plastic, is resulting in Aussies across all demographics taking less action than ever before.
Concerningly, a quarter of Australians say that convenience outweighs their attempts to be sustainable and that plastic products are more accessible (31%), and cheaper than sustainable alternatives (28%). Over 1.6 million Australians cannot be bothered to implement ways to reduce their plastic waste (8%) and say they are not concerned about plastic waste reduction at all (8%).
With the rising cost of living being a prominent stress point, many Australians are on the lookout for new ways to cut back on spending. The cost of being plastic conscious is a factor, with most Australians seeking “attainable sustainability” which impacts the planet, but not their hip pocket (72%). Those who are regularly opting for bottled water over the tap, could save tens of dollars each month, simply by making the switch to filtered water via a BRITA jug. It’s easy to turn tap water into great tasting freshly filtered water by using a BRITA jug and it tastes just as good as bottled water* and the jug can be used on an ongoing basis, having a positive impact on wallets and the environment.
During Plastic Free July 2022, a global movement for people to refuse or reduce their single-use plastic waste, BRITA is educating Aussies on simple ways we can reduce our plastic waste. This comes as 15 million Australians say more education needs to be made available on how to reduce plastic waste (77%), with over 2 million Australians admitting they don’t know how to reduce their plastic waste (11%).
Anita Birges, home organisation expert is challenging Australians to be more mindful in their purchasing of single use plastic during Plastic Free July and beyond, to help make a difference to this issue. “We know that attainable sustainability is important to over 14 million Australians who want to find ways to save the planet whilst also saving on the household budget. With over 1 million Australian households mostly drinking bottled water at home3, spending over $3.4 million each day4 and significantly contributing plastic waste, a switch to a BRITA jug is a simple way to save money and reduce single-use plastic waste,” says Birges.
This Winter, BRITA has a goal to prevent 150,000 single-use plastic water bottles from being wasted, calling on Australians to take the #FilterForGood pledge via BRITA.com.au and give up using single-use plastic water bottles at home**. According to IPSOS data, commissioned by BRITA, consumption of bottled water within Australian households has decreased from 52% in 2021 to 46% in 2022, however there is still a long way to go. If all households who only drink bottled water at home pledged not to do so for just one day, we will have saved over 6.5 million single-use plastic bottles (1L) from being discarded in Australia5.
According to BRITA’s research, a quarter of (26%) Australians acknowledge that the most popular time when they purchase or use a single-use plastic bottles is ‘only when I forget to bring my refillable water bottle’. Just under half (46%) of Australians say this purchase happens on average once every month, however cumulatively this equates to 110,734,711 bottles per year6 which could have been avoided with better planning.
Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, Founder of Plastic Free July, says that small changes we each make in our daily lives can help turn the tide on plastic pollution. There are so many ways to reduce plastic waste at home including switching from single-use bottled water to refillables and choosing a BRITA jug for filtered water. “In 2021, 3.3 million Australians took the challenge, together avoiding 9.9 million kgs of plastic waste. Plastic Free July research shows many Australians have got in the habit of taking their reusable bags when shopping and next steps include avoiding single-use bottled drinks and pre-packaged produce and remembering to BYO coffee cup for takeaways. Plastic Free July 2022 is an opportunity for us all to help turn the tide on plastic, one choice at a time.”
To help Australians act during Plastic Free July, Anita Birges shares these simple tips for reducing plastic waste at home:
- Make the switch to a BRITA filter jug instead of drinking single-use bottles of water at home or at the office
- Always consider the three R’s for a better planet – reduce, reuse, recycle
- Avoid using cling film and instead use plates and/or bowls to cover your food
- Avoid zip lock bags and substitute with silicone bags.
- Keep reusable shopping bags and store in various locations such as your car and handbag to ensure they are always on hand ahead of a grocery shop
- Bring your own containers when ordering takeaway to minimise the use of plastic containers
- When grocery shopping, opt for three plastic free packaged items such as toilet paper, oil bottles and salt and pepper bags
For further information, please visit:
https://www.brita.com.au/filterforgood .
https://www.facebook.com/BRITAWaterFilters
#FILTERFORGOOD
*79% of 228 bottled water drinkers agree. Source: Usage&Image representative tracking study 2022
**The #FilterForGood pledge campaign will run from 15 June 2022 – 31 July 2022
1Figure based on 16% of Australian adult population*** consuming one single-use plastic bottle across 365 days
2Figure based on purchasing the cheapest bottled water available at $0.53 per litre^
3Figure based on the 10.1514% of Australian household who mainly drink bottled water at home^^ against the total number of Australian households†
4Figure based on Australian households^^ who drink bottled water at home, getting the recommended daily consumption of 2.5L†† purchasing the cheapest bottled water available at $0.53 per litre^
5Figure based on the 10.1514% of Australian household who mainly drink bottled water at home^^ against the total number of Australian households† consuming the recommended 2.5l per day††
6Figure based on 46% of Australian adult population*** consuming one single-use plastic bottle once a month for 12 months
***Figures have been weighted against Australian adult population numbers from the June 2021 Census. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/jun-2021
^Woolworths Spring Water https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/749793/woolworths-spring-water
^^BIS Oxford Economics. The Domestic Water Filters Market In Australia 2021.
†2016 Australian census https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/036
††ABC News, How much water do we need to drink a day? October 2017. https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2017-10-18/how-much-water-do-we-need-to-drink-a-day/8996668
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