Joseph Austin

I will not buy anything except items required for health and safety.

The average paperback book has the same carbon footprint of driving about 7 miles (11 km) in an average car. Instead of purchasing new books this month, I will borrow books, e-books, and/or audiobooks from my local library or library-affiliated apps, or host a book swap with my friends.

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 5 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

The only thing worse than a single-use item is a zero-use item! I will use (and use up) what I already have in my home before buying something new.

Throughout its life cycle, polystyrene (styrofoam) can harm people, communities, and the planet. I will refuse styrofoam whenever I can, making sure to kindly let people know why I'm asking for alternative packaging.

Each year in the US, nearly 14.2 million disposable vapes are thrown away, and cigarette butts make up 30-40% of all litter collected during annual coastal and urban cleanups globally. For both my health and the health of the planet, this month I will kick my smoking habit and advocate for better regulations around the sale and disposal of disposable e-cigarettes.

Don't forget to celebrate the good! This month, I will give shout-outs on social media, my office's internal communication channels, or the Participant Feed to a local company, coworker, friend, or family member for their sustainable efforts.

Eliminating 100% of all plastic from our lives simply isn't possible. Throughout this month, I will embrace imperfection in my plastic-free journey while exploring and testing new ways to reduce my plastic footprint.

I will spend at least 5 minutes researching the impacts of bioplastics and how to properly dispose of them in my city, and I will share this information with 1 friends, family, and/or colleagues.

I will record a 15-20 second video sharing why I am taking action for the planet.

To extend the life of my ink cartridges, I will set my printer default to draft mode to use less ink or toner per print job.

I will conduct a waste audit of my trash and recycling to understand how much waste I create and create a plan for where I can reduce the most.

Instead of buying new plastic highlighters, I will simply use colored pencils instead for all of my highlighting needs.

There's value in our old electronics! This month, I will properly recycle any old laptops, tablets, cell phones, or other electronics I have lying around so the raw materials can be reused and reduce demand for virgin materials - thereby also protecting critical wildlife habitat for animals such as gorillas and forest elephants.