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Plastic Free July: How Canadians Are Taking On the Single-Use Plastic Challenge
Now in its second decade, the global movement is encouraging Canadian households, workplaces and schools to cut back on single-use plastic through simple, everyday swaps
Published: July 19, 2026
Every July, millions of people around the world take part in Plastic Free July, a campaign that asks individuals, workplaces and communities to reduce their reliance on single-use plastic for one month, with the hope that new habits stick well beyond the challenge itself.
In Canada, the federal government has folded its own messaging into the season through the Beat Plastic Pollution Challenge, which encourages residents to take concrete steps to cut down on the plastic they use in daily life, from grocery bags to takeout containers.
Organizers of the global campaign point to simple swaps as the easiest place to start: carrying a reusable water bottle and shopping bag, refusing plastic straws and cutlery, and choosing loose produce over pre-packaged options at the grocery store.
This year's campaign has also included a bid to break a world record for the most people refusing single-use plastic in a single day, an event organizers hope will draw fresh attention to how much everyday plastic waste is avoidable with small changes in habit.
Whether or not the record attempt succeeds, organizers say the real goal is lasting behaviour change, encouraging Canadians to think twice about the plastic wrap, cutlery and packaging that quietly pile up in daily life, long after July ends.
