Elijah Johnson

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 host a watch party with friends and/or colleagues to watch and discuss a movie about plastics.

Pads and tampons are typically made with plastics, and about 41 million pounds of menstrual products end up in landfills every year. This month, I will make the switch to sustainable, reusable period products.

Just because something is past its "expiration date," it might not actually be expired! I will spend 60 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 average American uses about 141 rolls of toilet paper each year, most of which is wrapped in plastic film. To cut down on my toilet paper usage, I will install a bidet in my bathroom.

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.

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 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.

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.

The chasing arrows symbol we associate with recycling doesn't always actually mean something is recyclable. I will spend at least 30 minutes learning the different meanings the symbol can have.

Science has shown that focused time in nature calms our over-worked frontal lobe and gives space for the areas of our brain associated with emotions, pleasure, and empathy to take over, providing a sense of calm that is measurable in brain scans and even blood tests. Each day this month, I will spend 90 minutes outside in nature, and share my observations, reflections, and learnings on the Participant Feed.

In addition to refusing and reducing my consumption of single-use plastics, I will pick up 10 piece(s) of litter each day of the Plastic Free Ecochallenge.

Even just one to-go coffee or tea a week adds up to 52 trashed cups in a year! I will avoid sending 2 disposable cups to the landfill per day by using a reusable mug or travel cup.

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 host or participate in a beach, highway, river, or other cleanup effort in my community.

I will spend 60 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.

I will only use reusable containers instead of single-use plastic storage items (such as plastic wrap, single-use sandwich bags).

Using the action resource links below, my family will spend 60 minutes learning about environmental justice, causes of environmental injustice, and how plastic waste disproportionately impacts already vulnerable communities.

Because many tea bags and most sleeves and sachets contain plastic, I will switch to using loose leaf tea.

In the UK, the average person creates 512kg (1,129lbs) of waste in the bathroom over the course of their lifetime - 50% of which ends up in a landfill. As they run out, I will replace my soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and lotions with sustainable, unpackaged, or refillable options.

When I need to replace my dish soap, I will switch to a bar or refillable option.

Globally, packaging manufacturers make about $25 billion each year on plastic beauty and personal care packaging. That's a whole lot of plastic - nearly all of which ends up in landfills. When it's time to buy more, I will replace my beauty products with refillable, sustainable, and/or DIY options.

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.

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 60 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.