Chloe Pyne

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.

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.

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.

Surface cleaners, glass cleaners, floor cleaners, oven cleaners, toilet cleaners...there's a whole lot of plastic waste involved in cleaning our homes - plus ingredients that can be harmful to aquatic ecosystems and our health. This month, I will make my own cleaning products or choose plastic-free, refillable options.

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.

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!

When we wash our clothes, the heat and friction causes our clothes to wear down, releasing microfibers into the water stream. To combat and prevent these microfibers as much as possible, in addition to following best laundry practices, I will use a microfiber catcher in my laundry, or install a microfiber filter for my washing machine.

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

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 advocate for alternatives to single use packaging at local grocery stores, markets, or work.

The chasing arrows symbol we associate with recycling doesn't always actually mean something is recyclable. I will spend at least 60 minutes learning the different meanings the symbol can have.

I will spend at least 120 minute(s) touring (virtually or in person) a local dump/transfer station, material recovery facility, and/or landfill to learn about our local waste and waste recovery streams.

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

I will teach my little ones about microplastics while we do a craft project together using glitter alternatives.

Although a long-standing festive tradition, balloons are harmful for animals and the environment. I will spend 30 learning about the dangers of balloons and find eco-friendly alternatives to use instead.

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.

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

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

In addition to refusing and reducing my consumption of single-use plastics, I will pick up 15 piece(s) of litter each day of the Plastic Free Ecochallenge.

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

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 60 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

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.

I will spend 120 minutes learning about the costs of fast fashion and begin trying to practice sustainable fashion in my own life.

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.

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.

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.

Just because something is past its "expiration date," it might not actually be expired! I will spend 30 minutes learning about the difference between best by, use by, and sell by dates and how to tell if my food is actually expired.

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.

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.

When I'm ordering takeout, I will bring my own containers for the restaurant to fill.

While most stores offer lenient return policies, what actually happens to all of those returns? I will spend 60 minutes learning about what happens to returns and how I can make better purchasing decisions to avoid returns in the future.

Natural cork is a sustainable, renewable, and biodegradable material, but many wineries are switching to synthetic corks for their wine bottles. Using a database like CORKWatch, I will choose wines with a natural cork closure, and properly compost or recycle them after enjoying my wine.