Refuse the paper towels at the public restrooms. Shake em off. Less waste for the landfill.
COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS
Personal Care
Lather Up
I will replace my soaps, shampoos, and conditions with either a bar or refillable option.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Community
Estimate Your Plastic Consumption and Go #PlasticNeutral
I will visit rePurpose website, complete the 3-minute plastic consumption calculator, and explore how I can reBalance my annual plastic footprint.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Personal Care
Pretty oh so Pretty
I will purchase beauty products that are packaged in sustainable packaging.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Lifestyle
Buy Only What I Need
I will not buy anything except items required for health and safety.
COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS
Lifestyle
Natural Fibers
When available, I will purchase clothing made with natural fibers, such as cotton, linen, or wool, rather than synthetic fibers.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Personal Care
Back in the Bowl
I will purchase refillable beauty products.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Lifestyle
Naked Bins
I will either line my trash cans with repurposed newspaper or paper bags, or I will not line my trash cans at all.
COMPLETED 31
DAILY ACTIONS
Food
Minimize Packaging
I will purchase food items with the least amount of packaging.
COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS
Personal Care
Brusha Brusha Brusha
I will replace my plastic toothbrush with a bamboo toothbrush.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Lifestyle
Watch a Documentary
I will watch a documentary film about waste with family and friends and talk about what we learned.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Food
Skip the Straw
I will keep 1 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill per day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.
COMPLETED 28
DAILY ACTIONS
Community
Keep My Community Clean
I will pick up 5 piece(s) of litter each day.
COMPLETED 29
DAILY ACTIONS
Lifestyle
Complete a Waste Audit
I will conduct a waste audit - including recyclables and compost - to understand how much waste I create and where I can reduce the most.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Community
Raise Money For a Nonprofit
I will raise money to support a nonprofit dedicated to plastic pollution reduction.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Community
Share My Actions
I will make my environmental actions visible by posting to my social media networks.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Participant Feed
Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.
To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?
As I have been unpacking my classroom at school, I have been noticing the huge amount of single use plastics and other "stuff" I have. Yes, I have been in my job a long time, and educators are packrats when it comes to materials. I can donate old stuff to Treasures for Teachers, but stuff will end up in the garbage. What I need to work on is reducing the amount of materials I buy and using/reusing what I have. Better for both my bank account and the environment.
For next years Plastic Free July challenge (I hope there is one because I have learned so much), I would love to see a challenge aimed at encouraging buying second hand clothes. Give those clothes a longer life span.
Bureo is a company that pulls discarded plastic fishing nets from the oceans and recycles them into different products. I have their Jenga game and my students were shocked when I told them discarded plastic fishing nets were used to make the game. This led to a great conversation about how the nets were recycled, what happens if the nets aren't pulled from the ocean, etc.
Saturday afternoon challenge: go to grocery store (where plastic is everywhere) to pick up food for a potluck for people participating in Plastic Free July without buying items in plastic packaging. Managed to keep the plastic to a minimum but it wasn't easy.
Bonnie Boelman 7/31/2019 10:07 AMmy kids and I buy most of our clothes at resale shops. Saves us a lot of money and keeps it out of the land fills.
Carrie Dean 7/29/2019 6:38 PMI have learned about so many more resources from you Amy! Thanks for sharing!
