There has been a lot in the news recently about plastic.

From headlines about the eight million tonnes of plastic being dumped in our oceans each year, to America dumping its electronic waste in Ghana; from Mumbai in India being the first city to ban and penalise people for using single use plastics to the one million sea birds that are killed by marine plastic pollution annually.

It’s clear that we need to do something drastic to reduce our plastic pollution, but sometimes the scale and the size of the problem can feel overwhelming, and whilst governments discuss and hopefully implement important new policies, it can feel disempowering to sit at home and do nothing.

This is what Plastic Free July is all about – taking matters into our own hands and feeling empowered to make changes in our everyday lives.

This year, more than two million people from 159 countries are choosing to be part of plastic free July, and you can join them by taking part in Oxfordshire.

Our top tips include:

• think before you travel: take reusable mugs and bottles and say no to plastic forks and straws

• think before you buy: say no to plastic bags, choose loose vegetables, take a tote bag out with you

• think about waste: source two or three items plastic free, reuse old bottles and containers, recycle plastics. If you really can’t find what you need without plastic, leave the packaging with the shop to dispose of themselves.

Luckily for you, there are also lots of awesome initiatives across Oxfordshire that are working to reduce plastic waste, making your plastic-free July as easy and maybe even enjoyable as possible!

Want to do your weekly shop without using a plastic bag? Cultivate (locally-grown vegetables) and SESI (packaging-free refills of detergents and wholefoods) will be at farmers markets across Oxford every weekend, and Cultivate even provide cycle-powered home deliveries.

How about staying hydrated during the July heat? Refill Oxford have just created a brilliant new app that allows you to find places to refill your reusable water bottle across the city. Live outside of Oxford? Similar schemes are now also being set up in Abingdon, Banbury, Didcot and elsewhere around the county. Woodstock has even just become one of the first single-use-plastic-bag-free towns.

Thinking about where to go for your morning coffee? Choose one of the cafés that won seven stars in Oxfordshire’s Action on plastic pollution awards: Turl Street Kitchen and Jericho Coffee Traders.

Or perhaps you want to get creative this July by joining Orinoco in their reuse of plastic waste in art and DIY projects, or by learning how to repair an old electronic item at one of Oxfordshire’s many repair cafes taking place this summer, rather than buying a new one.

Low Carbon Oxford North have also started a ‘Lets Cut our Plastics’ campaign to help people make long-term and lasting reductions to their plastic consumption.

They are just one of many community action groups that are working with Oxfordshire residents to not only reduce their plastic consumption but also live a much lower carbon lifestyle.

How about it? Join the challenge and go plastic free this July.

Find out more at cagoxfordshire.org.uk