Impact 2025

2025 marks 15 years since Plastic Free July^™ began.

Over that time, this award-winning behaviour change campaign has grown from a local initiative with 40 people into the world’s largest plastic waste avoidance challenge, with at least 174 million people taking part this year.

Plastic Free July was created by the Plastic Free Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation committed to helping end plastic waste by empowering people to avoid single-use plastic. The Foundation plays an active and ongoing role in solidifying July as the global month of action against plastic pollution, by driving the challenge and sharing solutions and resources with people, organisations, and governments around the world.

As this 2025 Impact Report shows, small, everyday steps to avoid plastic truly make a big difference.

Ambassador spotlight

Since 2018, musician Jack Johnson has been an international ambassador of Plastic Free July. This year, Jack’s commitment to reducing plastic included shopping for fresh produce at his local farm stand and refilling essentials at his local general store.

“Plastic Free July inspires me to step up my commitment to reducing single-use plastic in my daily life and on tour.” – Jack Johnson

Each July, Plastic Free July participants make choices that add up to an extraordinary global impact.

Plastic pollution awareness continues to grow on a global scale, and so does participation in the campaign.  As well as the changes made during July, the majority of participants make new habits that last beyond the challenge, multiplying that impact even further. 

In 2025:

• At least 174 million people across 190 countries took the challenge – that’s a staggering 16% of global consumers
• 29% of global consumers (over 316 million) were aware of Plastic Free July
• Participants reduced their household by 13kgs per person (that’s 3.1% less waste) and took 15% more action to reduce plastic waste (compared to people not doing the challenge)
• Globally, participants reduced:
  • non-recoverable (landfill) waste by 1.4 million tonnes
  • recyclable waste by 900,000 tonnes, including
  • plastic consumption by 290,000 tonnes
• 82 licensees contributed to the Foundation and helped make Plastic Free July resources free for schools and communities 
• 47 member councils worked together to avoid over 8,500 tonnes of plastic waste
• 75% of the population supports policies and action to reduce waste
• Participants have strong social connections and a positive sense of well-being

These yearly numbers add up to significant changes. In the last 7 years alone, participants have collectively avoided 15 million tonnes of waste. For scale, that’s the weight of over 100,000 blue whales, and more than all the waste collected by the 10 biggest cleanups around the world combined. 

Plastic Free July is about turning everyday choices into long-term changes. 

In 2025, 86% of participants globally said the actions they took for Plastic Free July made lasting, habit-forming changes. Participants shared stories of refusing plastic bags, swapping plastic packaged products for refillable ones, avoiding unnecessary packaging, and investing in reusables.

We also launched the online Plastic Free Pledge this year, making it easier for people to commit to simple changes, and inspire others to join them. From families in Africa to mayors in the USA, people from over 70 countries uploaded their pledges, including:

• Over 500 students and families from St Theresa’s College in the Philippines made individual pledges through drawings and artistic creations
• Women in Iran shared photos of their reusable shopping bags
• Team members of Gurru, a waste management software in Australia and licensee of Plastic Free July, made individual pledges – from switching tea bags to loose-leaf tea, to bringing reusable mesh produce bags on grocery runs

To help drive these impactful changes, we provide free resources and tools to individuals, schools, organisations and community groups, including a calendar with 31 days of tips and changes.

From plastic free picnics to school students turning trash into fashion, communities around the world came together to make Plastic Free July 2025 the most impactful year yet.

This year, the Plastic Free Foundation co-launched The NextGen Youth Fellowship, a youth program designed to empower the next generation of community champions across the Asia Pacific region. These young Fellows made powerful changes – like Kokoro in Japan, who created a student group at her university to advocate for the installation of water dispensers and promote the use of reusable water bottles and plastic free lunches. In Sri Lanka, Shanaya hosted a community workshop to teach people to sew their own reusable tote bags.

Grassroot events brought people together with creativity and joy. Like dirtgirlworld’s online livestreamed picnic in Australia which celebrated 15 years of Plastic Free July with music, joy, and zero single-use plastics.

In 2025, businesses around the world continued to step up and take part in the fight against plastic pollution. Innovative organisations are reducing plastic waste and inspiring customers and employees to do the same, including the first plastic-free resort in Vietnam, a co-op market in New York removing single-use plastic utensils and sandwich wraps from their store, and corporate offices in Sydney and Melbourne providing reusable containers for staff lunches.

Many organisations also became licensees of Plastic Free July this year. Licensing makes it possible for us to continue offering free resources and support to individuals and communities worldwide, as well as protecting the integrity and impact of the Plastic Free July brand.  

Some of the licensees who made an incredible impact in 2025 include:

• Culligan, an international water treatment company, inspired their global team of over 15,000 to take part in Plastic Free July, organising neighbourhood cleanups and taking to the streets in mobile water trucks to hand out clean water and promote sustainable, plastic-free drinking habits
• The Gatwick Airport in London ran a Plastic Free July event that included presentations on the impact of plastic pollution and a Plastic Free Marketplace with a range of zero plastic products for sale
• Bechtel, a trusted partner in engineering, construction, and project management for industry and government, engaged 255 employees across 18 global sites to eliminate 13,000+ plastic items in July, complemented by awareness events like Bingo and lunch and learns.

Individual action drives policy change, and Plastic Free July continues to inspire governments around the world to act on plastic pollution.

In Toronto, a new ‘Single-Use Plastic Free Day’ launched following the introduction of the city’s single-use plastic bylaw last year. Lisbon in Portugal became the first European capital to introduce a city-wide reusable cup system in July. 

Over in the United States, the New York State Senate once again declared July a Plastic Free Month, an initiative that’s been in place every year since 2017. And in Washington, several senators joined forces to officially designate July as Plastic Pollution Action Month.

Governments around the world also marked the beginning of Plastic Free July with new regulations. In Western Australia, bans on expanded plastic packaging came into effect, preventing businesses from selling or supplying expanded plastics (such as expanded polystyrene). Oman rolled out the third phase of its plastic bag ban, and the city of Delaware, USA, banned the use of styrofoam and some single-use plastics in restaurants and food trucks.

Plastic Free July continued to grow as the global month of action on plastic pollution. In 2025, our stories reached millions:

• 2.1 million views on Instagram
• 1.4 million views on Facebook
• 91,000 impressions on LinkedIn
• 2,900 online pieces of media generated
• Global potential media reach 5.3 billion people

This outreach effectively amplified inspiring stories, sparked meaningful conversations, inspired lasting action, and continued to build a global, engaged community.

Plastic Free July is made possible by the support of our partners, donors, member councils, and licensees. 

The Plastic Free Foundation is supported by the Government of Western Australia and the Waste Authority (2025-2028). Their ongoing support helps us expand education, research, and community engagement.

In 2025, we were proud to work with CSIRO on two major collaborations:

• The Indo-Pacific Plastics Innovation Grant: As a recipient of this grant, we partnered and worked closely with local organisations in Vietnam and Indonesia to develop resources and activate sustainability campaigns – including running a plastic free picnic in Jakarta.  
• Establishing a baseline on marine plastic litter in the Philippines project: We collaborated with the CSIRO on this project for the third consecutive year. This year, we worked with local businesses and individuals to create the Philippines Plastic Solutions Showcase, a powerful collection of local innovations and grassroot actions making a real difference.

Our 47 member councils helped avoid over 8,500 tonnes of plastic waste this year, and our 82 licensees ensured Plastic Free July resources remained free for schools and community groups worldwide.

To every partner, donor, and supporter, we thank you for being part of the journey toward a world without plastic waste.

The Plastic Free Foundation Board is made up of a diverse group of professionals, united by a shared vision for a cleaner future. With expertise spanning sustainability, law, governance, and community engagement, members offer a range of perspectives that strengthen our decision-making and impact.

Our Board is guided by honesty, integrity, and collaboration, and committed to strong governance and transparent leadership. Together, we focus on empowering communities, inspiring change, and ‘turning off the plastics tap’ – for good.

Together, we’ve shown that small actions can create powerful waves of global change. From refill stations in Jakarta to reusable pledges in classrooms around the world, 2025 proved what’s possible when millions unite with purpose. Now, we turn our focus to Plastic Free July 2026, a rallying point for a Plastic Free Future.

This campaign will put children and young people at the forefront, recognising their concerns and empowering a new generation of changemakers. By reducing single-use plastics today, we’re building a healthier, more sustainable tomorrow for generations to come.

Now is the time to get involved: support the movement by securing a license, becoming an official partner, or inspiring your community to take part. Together, we can make 2026 our most impactful chapter yet.