Linda Rowe

I will support composting/recycling at a major event hosted by my organization so that we can achieve close to zero waste for the event.

I will share my knowledge about plastic pollution and ways to be more sustainable to other professionals through presentations and formal talks,

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!).

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.

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

In addition to refusing and reducing my consumption of single-use plastics, I will pick up 25 piece(s) of litter each day of the Plastic Free Ecochallenge.

Vegetable broth cartons are not easily recycled and often not accepted for recycling at all. To avoid or reduce my use of these cartons, I will save my vegetable scraps and fresh herb stems to make homemade vegetable broth instead.

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.

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!

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.

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 hang-dry my laundry to use the sun as a natural bleach alternative, or use another natural bleach alternative.