Arius Willis

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.

When available, I will purchase clothing and bedding made with natural fibers, such as cotton, linen, or wool, rather than synthetic fibers.

Instead of buying new plastic highlighters, I will simply use colored pencils instead for all of my highlighting needs.

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.

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.

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.

The plastic industry has convinced us that some plastic bags are "trash bags," while others are just "trash." Instead of throwing empty bags away (such as bread bags, pet food bags, etc.), I will reuse them as trash bags.

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!).

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

To extend the life of my ink cartridges, I will set my printer default to draft mode to use less ink or toner per print job.

Greenwashing can fool even the most experienced eco-advocate. This month, I will spend 120 minutes learning what greenwashing is, how to spot it, and what I can do about it.

Composting isn't just good for soil! Composting your food scraps and other organic materials decreases your overall trash output, so you don't have to take the trash out as often and extend the life of your trash bags (i.e. use less plastic!). This month, I will start a compost collection at home, work, or school and avoid sending 1 pounds of food waste to landfill each day.

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

I will record a 15-20 second video sharing why I am taking action for the planet.

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!

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.

In the US, about 1 billion toothbrushes are thrown away each year. And because plastic is designed to last, nearly every plastic toothbrush ever created still exists. When it's time to replace my current toothbrush, I will replace it with a plastic-free bamboo option.

In addition to refusing and reducing my consumption of single-use plastics, I will pick up 20 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!