What stood out to me the most was how practical and convenient the invention of single-use plastics was! Plastics play of vital role in society and in some cases switching away from plastics is hard. As such, I feel like exploring bio-based plastics, such as polysaccharide or engineering biodegradable plastics should be the future.

I don't think I have experienced any effects related to breast cancer, kidney disease, bone disease, or memory loss - though some of these severe side effects of aluminum deodorants have few scientific evidence.

I cleaned my drier vents for the first time this weekend. It was much much more difficult than I anticipated mainly because I had never done it before. I had to look up multiple youtube videos and reddit posts to figure out how (still not sure how effectively I was able to do it). I was able to remove a significant amount of lint so I count it as a success.

I always try my best to only purchase clothes I need and from places that would not be considered as fast fashion (like Shien). I also try to only purchase clothes that I know I can wear with other clothes I already own to ensure that they will be used consistently to and that I will value the item.

I was very surprised that there was such a small portion (~4) of the seven symbols could be actually recycled. It made me realize that I normally recycle based on "vibes". As such, this information is extremely helpful as it means I can start properly recycling the correct plastic items which ultimately saves energy and time (in sorting).

I think something helpful that I could do personally, is advocate for better signage in my condo. Currently, there is very little description of what the symbols mean at the garbage disposal which can lead to plastic products being wrongly disposed of. It would helpful to explicitly show what symbols can be recycled.

Beside the material impacts, recycling electronics (depending on the intensity of the recycling process) can reduce the overall carbon footprint of the lifecycle since the disposal stage is removed/reduced. Economically, there is value added to product since the old electronic can be scraped (usually for profit). Overall, it helps encourage the reuse and recycle mindset which can translate into other products as well.

PVC is the third most common plastic manufactured globally. PVC is toxic at every stage of production and disposal. I did not know that manufacturing PVC is such a chemically involved process with lots of toxic chemicals used. And based on a Guardian report, it estimates the U.S. is averaging one chemical accident every two days. That is truly shocking and is not talked bout in the media enough.

Bar soaps as an example eliminate the need for plastic packaging. They often come in minimal or zero-waste packaging, such as recycled paper or reusable tins. Refillable bottle options like hand soap are also economically better as the refill pack is much cheaper than buying a new bottle of the same hand soap.