Jess Henson

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.

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.

In addition to refusing and reducing my consumption of single-use plastics, I will pick up 3 piece(s) of litter each day of the Plastic Free Ecochallenge.

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!

I will lobby my workplace to have reusable dishes and silverware in order to minimize disposables.

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!

Each year, the International Coastal Cleanup reports that plastic straws and stirrers are one of the Top 10 most-collected items from their cleanups (top 5 in the US!). I will keep 3 plastic straws and/or stirrers out of the landfill each day by refusing straws or using my own reusable straw.

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.