Kennedy Craven

Just because something is past its "expiration date," it might not actually be expired! I will spend 5 minutes learning about the difference between best by, use by, and sell by dates and how to tell if my food is actually expired.

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.

While most stores offer lenient return policies, what actually happens to all of those returns? I will spend 15 minutes learning about what happens to returns and how I can make better purchasing decisions to avoid returns in the future.

Greenwashing can fool even the most experienced eco-advocate. This month, I will spend 15 minutes learning what greenwashing is, how to spot it, and what I can do about it.

I will spend at least 15 minutes researching the impacts of bioplastics and how to properly dispose of them in my city, and I will share this information with 0 friends, family, and/or colleagues.

Pinterest may want you to think that you need a cupboard full of matching mason jars, but reusing what we already have is one of the best ways to reduce our waste. This month, instead of recycling glass jars (such as pasta sauce, pickles, and salsa jars), I will save them to reuse for food storage.

An estimated 50,000lbs (23,000kg) of contact lenses end up in sewage sludge in the US each year. This month, I will learn how to recycle used contact lenses and packaging or switch to wearing glasses instead.

Travel-size toiletries aren't just more expensive per ounce, they also have a higher plastic-to-contents ratio, and result in over 980 tonnes (2.2 million pounds) of plastic waste each year. If traveling this month, I will reuse my old travel tubes to refill with my soaps or only bring bar soaps with me.

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!

Get creative in the kitchen (or the garden)! Before tossing food scraps, I'll explore other ways to utilize the scraps and give them another life.

Produce doesn't need to be stored in plastic bags to stay fresh! I will learn how to properly store my produce to extend its freshness without single-use plastic.

I will calculate my ecological footprint, and from the results brainstorm and take action on ways I can reduce my annual footprint.

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.

Our tax dollars are subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, making the cost of plastics artificially low and encouraging further plastics production. I will spend 10 minutes learning about oil subsidies and how I can advocate for their elimination.