Olivia Olivia

I will plant an herb or vegetable garden using as little plastic as possible and to save from the plastic used buying herbs and veggies.

I will spend 5 minutes learning about the costs of fast fashion and begin trying to practice sustainable fashion in my own life.

Single-use plastics are everywhere, but that wasn't always the case. I will spend at least 5 minutes learning about the history of single-use plastics and how it became ubiquitous in our daily lives.

Our tax dollars are subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, making the cost of plastics artificially low and encouraging further plastics production. I will spend 5 minutes learning about oil subsidies and how I can advocate for their elimination.

I will purchase dry goods from the bulk section of my grocery store, and I will use my own containers whenever possible (cloth bags, mason jars, even reused Ziploc bags will do!). When it's not possible to use my own containers, I will wash and reuse the containers offered by the store.

Ditch the plastic jugs, artificial dyes, and harmful ingredients! When it's time to replace my current laundry detergent, I will switch to a natural laundry detergent that is packaged in glass or aluminum, or an alternative like soap nuts.

I will advocate for alternatives to single use packaging at local grocery stores, markets, or work.

There are many benefits to enjoying meatless meals - including reducing our plastic footprint. Most meats and dairy products are packaged in plastic, so this month, I will reduce my animal product consumption and enjoy 2 vegetarian or vegan meals each day.

In addition to refusing and reducing my consumption of single-use plastics, I will pick up 20 piece(s) of litter each day of the Plastic Free Ecochallenge.

While most stores offer lenient return policies, what actually happens to all of those returns? I will spend 5 minutes learning about what happens to returns and how I can make better purchasing decisions to avoid returns in the future.

Help us make the Plastic Free Ecochallenge the best it can be! Take the challenge pre-survey (and look out for the post-survey at the end of the challenge!) so we can better understand the impact the challenge has and how we can improve in the future. Plus, you'll earn points for completing it! Thank you!

The chasing arrows symbol we associate with recycling doesn't always actually mean something is recyclable. I will spend at least 5 minutes learning the different meanings the symbol can have.

Most toilet paper is wrapped in plastic #4, or low-density polyethylene - a thin plastic film that cannot be recycled back into more plastic film. To avoid this plastic wrapping, I will purchase toilet paper wrapped in paper instead, or use a reusable toilet paper option.

The numbers #1-7 on plastics tell us a lot - and can help us be better recyclers. I will learn what these numbers mean and which types of plastics are accepted for recycling in my area.