Kristina Scott

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

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

The simple, necessary, daily act of washing our clothes slowly degrades the quality of our clothes due to the friction involved in the process. To extend the life of my clothes, whenever possible, I will wear items multiple times before washing.

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.

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 10 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.

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.

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 not buy anything except items required for health and safety.

Even when advertised as "flushable" these wipes don't break down in sewer systems, but instead combine with fat to create massive clogs. This month, I will find alternatives to using disposable wipes.

I will calculate my ecological footprint, and from the results brainstorm and take action on ways I can reduce my annual footprint.

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.

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

I will swap out my single use plastic bags for a pooper-scooper.

Does your savings account, retirement account, or investment account support the fossil fuel (and plastics) industry? This month, I will spend 20 minutes investigating where my investments (and where my bank's investments) are going, divest from the fossil fuel industry, and reinvest in ways that are more in alignment with my values.

I will swap out my cat's litter for sawdust, mulch, or dirt with baking soda.

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.

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!

I will use a rubber glove to remove pet hair from clothes, carpets and furniture.

I will conduct a waste audit of my trash and recycling to understand how much waste I create and create a plan for where I can reduce the most.

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.

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 120 minutes outside in nature, and share my observations, reflections, and learnings on the Participant Feed.