Madison Hall

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!

Bottled water corporations make plastic bottles, not water. If the tap water in my area is safe for consumption, I will use a reusable bottle instead and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 1 disposable plastic bottles a day.

I will spend 30 minutes learning about the costs of fast fashion and begin trying to practice sustainable fashion in my own life.

While it can be tempting to throw away (or drop off at Goodwill) any and everything that no longer brings us joy, there are so many options that are better for the planet! This month, I will declutter my home and properly dispose or re-home the things I no longer want.

Most conventional shower curtain liners are made from polyvinyl chloride (or PVC), which contains chlorine, phthalates, and plasticizers, and typically need replaced often. When it's time to replace my shower curtain liner, I will replace it with a plastic-free option and research the best ways to care for it.

We've all got it - that thing in the back of our closet we keep saying we'll fix "one day." I will make today that day by learning how to mend or repair ripped or broken items in my home - or by finding a local offering to do it for me.

While most stores offer lenient return policies, what actually happens to all of those returns? I will spend 20 minutes learning about what happens to returns and how I can make better purchasing decisions to avoid returns in the future.

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.

Every single textile ever made will, at some point, become worn out - and dealing with that waste costs millions of tax dollars every year. I will spend 30 minutes learning about the different types of textile recycling and creating a plan for what I'll do with my clothes and other textiles when they are too worn out to use anymore.

Every time we tumble dry our laundry, our clothes' lifespans get a little shorter. The lint trap is evidence of the shedding fibers and our clothes slowly losing their quality. The less time our clothes need to be in the dryer, the longer they'll last. So this month, I will clean my dryer's interior and exterior air vents to help the dryer work more efficiently (and extend the life of the dryer!).

All those symbols on our clothes, sheets, and towels actually have meanings! To ensure that I'm caring for my clothes properly, I will spend 20 minutes learning what the care symbols mean and laundry best practices to make all of my textiles last as long as possible.

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.

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.

When available, I will purchase clothing and bedding made with natural fibers, such as cotton, linen, or wool, rather than synthetic fibers.

Plastic sheets coated in softeners, lubricants, and fragrances, dryer sheets just aren't great for the planet or our bodies. Instead, I will use wool dryer balls or another plastic-free alternative to dryer sheets to keep my clothes static-free.

Single-use plastics are everywhere, but that wasn't always the case. I will spend at least 30 minutes learning about the history of single-use plastics and how it became ubiquitous in our daily lives.

I will find secondhand sources for my pet's water/food dishes, collars or leashes.

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.

Using the action resource links below, my family will spend 30 minutes learning about environmental justice, causes of environmental injustice, and how plastic waste disproportionately impacts already vulnerable communities.

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.

I will spend 30 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.

The chasing arrows symbol we associate with recycling doesn't always actually mean something is recyclable. I will spend at least 15 minutes learning the different meanings the symbol can have.

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.

I will give my pets natural alternatives to toys like femur bones and antlers, canvas, natural rubber, hemp, rope or cotton toys. Or make our own toys from recycled items found in our home!

Plastic production, not just disposal, pollutes communities and harms people. I will learn about the impacts of plastic production on humans, animals, communities, and the environment.

I will spend 15 minutes educating my family on the basics of living a reduced/no-plastic lifestyle.

Whenever possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when shopping, including produce bags. I will either use my own reusable bags, or keep my items loose.

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.

The plastic industry has convinced us that some plastic bags are "trash bags," while others are just "trash." Instead of throwing empty bags away (such as bread bags, pet food bags, etc.), I will reuse them as trash bags.

Even just one to-go coffee or tea a week adds up to 52 trashed cups in a year! I will avoid sending 1 disposable cups to the landfill per day by using a reusable mug or travel cup.