Earth Day 2018

Earth Day 2018

At the Green Party, Earth Day is one of our favourite days of the year. It’s a day we put our passion for the planet on display. And we challenge you, and all Canadians, to do the same.

The global campaign at the centre of Earth Day 2018 is Ending Plastic Waste. We’re sick of plastics being everywhere, from packaging for our food, to ever-expanding islands of garbage in our oceans.

Yes, plastics are convenient. But they’re also deadly. And they never go away. Each one of us has a role to play in reusing, recycling, reducing —and rejecting — plastics in our daily lives.


Let’s reduce our plastic footprint!

In honour of Earth Day and our determination to help move us beyond plastic waste, we teamed up with a sustainable, eco-friendly company that produces handy, dishwasher-safe bamboo utensil sets to replace plastic cutlery. Each set comes with a fork, knife, spoon, chopsticks and a sleeve made from recycled water plastics!

You’ll receive your very own set — proudly branded with the Green Party logo -- by making a donation to the Green Party of Canada for $50 or more!


Here are some tips to help you reduce your
plastic footprint — on Earth Day, and every day!

Some easy tips to help get you started on your post-plastics future ...

  • Don’t buy bottled water; bring along your own bottle and fill up at taps and fountains. If you can, forget about bottled drinks altogether.
  • Go old-school and use a lunchbox in place of plastic bags. You can even go a step further by opting for one made of stainless steel.
  • Make sure you pack all your lunch items in reusable containers — ideally made from glass, not plastic.
  • Ditch plastic straws. Just let your server know in advance. And while you’re at it, urge the restaurant to stop using them altogether. If you really love straws, you can buy a reusable one made of glass or stainless steel.
  • Reuse your plastic food containers — from yogurt, margarine, or whatever — for storing leftovers.
  • Take your own fabric (tote) bags to the grocery store. If your grocer uses plastic bags, ask for them to be phased out or discouraged.

These are a bit harder, but who doesn’t love a fun and exciting challenge?!

  • Buy your food, cleaning and personal care products from a bulk item store to avoid all those plastic bags and containers. Bulk item stores are popping up in more and more cities across the country. If there isn’t one near you, perhaps you have access to a Bulk Barn, where customers bring their own reusable containers for dried food and other items.
  • Put fresh produce in a fabric bag (or just directly into the shopping cart), rather than using the plastic produce bags provided.
  • For covering food in your fridge, ditch plastic wraps. Use beeswax-based replacements, or airtight containers.
  • Bring your own utensils to avoid plastic cutlery. If you’re into grabbing a coffee or tea on the go, bring your own thermos.
  • If you go out to a restaurant and expect leftovers, take some tupperware with you.
  • Be conscious of the food packaging. Choose fresh-baked bread that comes in a paper bag, avoid store-bought juices and milk in plastic containers (buy milk in reusable glass bottles instead), and ditch frozen food altogether.

#PlasticFreeGPC

We’re doing our part to reduce our plastic footprint in celebration of Earth Day 2018. Join us.

Post a photo on Twitter with the hashtag #PlasticFreeGPC, showing us how you reduce plastic in your life. It can be the front of your plastic-free grocery store, your awesome new travel mug, or your friends’ faces after you lecture them about the plastic bags they brought to your dinner party.

We’ll pick our favourites and keep posting them here until the end of April. Let’s make a positive impact. Together.

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