Mullum Cares is co ordinating the Mullum PFJ pilot project in order to shine a light on the fantastic trader community in Mullumbimby!
Every trader is invited to participate even if they don’t supply any of the traditional Plastic Free July Top 4 disposable items: plastic bags, straws, disposable water bottles, take away coffee cups & lids.
Here is the custom built Trader Pledge signup form that Mullum businesses are the first to use. The intention is that it will be adopted by the Plastic Free July founders in WA and added to the ‘Tool Kit’ for other communities to utilise in the future.
Q1: If you supply plastic bags can you consider not doing this for the first day, a week or the entire month of July? Why not start selling reusable bags as an added income stream? Get them branded at www.organictees.com.au with your logo! That would be a great look for your business and a clever way to invest your advertising spend!
Q2: If you sell take away coffee can you join Responsible Cafes and commit to offering customers who #BYOcup a discount? If you don’t already, can you offer reusable cups for sale so your customers have a choice? This will introduce a new income stream for your business! Mullum Cares has branded cups you can order and sell on a 50/50 profit split. Email Sasha on info@mullumcares.com.au for more information.
Q3: If you have straws can you hide them or replace them with paper ones? Even just for a day or a week to see how it goes? You could consider selling reusable ones! Checkout all the compostable take away food and drink containers available at local Billinudgel business, Green Pack. Offering all the alternatives to disposable items means your business is giving it’s customers both the convenience you think they want and the opportunity for them to make a better choice!
Q4: If you sell single use water bottles you’re not alone and this is the hardest item for our community to change at the moment. For this year we are just asking you to start thinking about what would need to change for you to be comfortable not stocking them anymore? Stocking reusable water bottles for sale is a great place to start. Mullum Cares has Cheeki stainless steel bottles available for you to sell on the 50/50 split agreement:)
Mullum Cares will continue to work with the town’s businesses long after July to continue implementing solutions that benefit them as well as the community and the environment.
Most businesses generate plastic waste of some description and there are new services available within the shire to divert this waste from landfill. Better than simply diverting the waste is working to significantly reduce the volumes coming into the town.
Have a look at the Trader Pledge form to get an idea about what your business can commit to this July (you can just look at it without having to submit it).
The Top 4 items as defined by the Plastic Free July challenge are:
All Plastic Carry Bags
Disposable Plastic Water Bottles
Single Use Coffee Cups & Lids
Plastic Straws
If your business supplies any of these Top 4 you are encouraged to take advantage of the PFJ campaign to trial making changes to how your business supplies them. The use of these items have become entrenched in our way of life but habits can be broken and that’s what we want Mullum to grow its reputation for.