I will swap out my single use plastic bags for a pooper-scooper.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Bathroom
Pearly Whites
I will switch to a plastic-free toothpaste — whether purchased or DIY'd.
UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Bathroom
Eco Deodorant
I will switch to a plastic-free deodorant — whether purchased or DIY'd.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Study
Estimate Your Ecological Footprint
I will calculate my ecological footprint, and from the results brainstorm and take action on ways I can reduce my annual footprint.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Bathroom
That Was a Close Shave
I will replace my disposable razors with steel razors.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Kitchen
Better Gum
I will give up gum or choose gum made from chicle or other plastic-free gum bases.
COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS
Kitchen
Minimize Packaging
I will purchase food items with the least amount of packaging.
COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS
Kitchen
Cook a Plastic Free Meal
I will prepare meals at home each day without using any items packaged in single-use plastic.
COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS
Study
Follow the Chasing Arrows
The chasing arrows symbol we associate with recycling doesn't always actually mean something is recyclable. I will spend at least 10 minutes learning the different meanings the symbol can have.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Kitchen
Travel Eating
If traveling, I will bring my own snacks and meals in my own containers to avoid the waste of take-out containers.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Study
Say No to Styrofoam
Throughout its life cycle, polystyrene (styrofoam) can harm people, communities, and the planet. I will refuse styrofoam whenever I can, making sure to kindly let people know why I'm asking for alternative packaging.
COMPLETED 9
DAILY ACTIONS
Community
Research Local Waste Sites
I will spend 10 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Community
Share My Actions
I will make my environmental actions visible by sharing about them on my social media networks and the Plastic Free Ecochallenge participant feed.
COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION
Bedroom
Practice Sustainable Fashion
I will spend 10 minutes learning about the costs of fast fashion and begin trying to practice sustainable fashion in my own life.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Family + Pets
Sustainable Suds: Pet Edition
I will replace my pet's shampoo with an eco-friendly shampoo bar or refillable shampoo option.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Participant Feed
REFLECTION
QUESTION
Family + Pets
In what ways does your pet make your life happier, more interesting, or more rewarding?
He makes it more interesting as he is completely blind and is a great conversation starter. He's also my best friend, and while he is a pain I love him very much
Thrifting is a great way to cater a more creative and unique style, as you are actively looking at a variety of clothes where nothing is the same. Also, when purchasing second hand, it invites you to take more risks with DIYing, such as cutting something to suit your style, dying or sewing.
I put the settings for this for everyone and have had people from Texas reply to my things, showing the global reach of the challenge and learning more about how other communities recycling habits
The pooper scooper makes it easier to clean up after his mess, while also cleaning up the yard and making his environment a cleaner, nicer smelling area for him to explore.
The local landfill and recycling facilities are down in Wollongong or up in Campbelltown, which means that to do large recycling loads we need to travel at least 30-40 minutes away. In Helensburgh there is one recycle and collect point for bottles, but for anything larger you must go out of town.
This is a relatively easy one for me, as I typically buy my veges like carrots without plastic, so cutting the carrots into sticks and packing without is was easy. However, this did also limit the amount of snacks that I could buy for myself, which was trickier, and got me to think about what I could make rather than buy
Recycling right requires both systemic change and personal and community awareness. How can you expand what you've learned about the chasing arrows symbol to encourage broader changes in your community?
First off, learning about this really bummed me out.
Secondly, I think just by word of mouth and being more selective of what products I'm picking up and/or recycling/throwing out, I can encourage awareness. For instance, when seeing someone not clean out their recycles before recycling just informing them that that needs to be done. Also by petitioning local and state governments to increase the amount of industrial composting facilities so the recycling of bio-plastics actually is effective waste management could be a good community endeavour.
Sadly, here in my city of Houston, Texas, I've noticed that folks often act like they think it's weird to recycle--even though we've had city recycling pickup for more than 20 years. Some even seem proud of the fact that they don't bother! That's disheartening. I figure it's useless to even talk to people with that kind of smugness or sense of entitlement and simply try to provide a good model of behavior. I wait for someone to seem interested, and only then do I try to start a conversation about recycling. Still, it's frustrating that so many people around here don't take recycling or other sustainability practices seriously.
With the added mindfulness of reducing your packaging, what have you noticed about the amount and type of single use plastics used for packaging when you shop in the grocery store?
I realised that buying from grocers/butchers/independent traders generally uses less plastic as it is mostly buying in bulk. Plus it supports local! The plastic that might get used from the butcher is typically a single plastic bag from the butchers, which we use to store our meat products at home in the freezer for a long time. This definitely beats the multiple single use sleeves and trays from big supermarkets like Coles.
Mary Hanks 7/14/2023 8:54 AMSadly, here in my city of Houston, Texas, I've noticed that folks often act like they think it's weird to recycle--even though we've had city recycling pickup for more than 20 years. Some even seem proud of the fact that they don't bother! That's disheartening. I figure it's useless to even talk to people with that kind of smugness or sense of entitlement and simply try to provide a good model of behavior. I wait for someone to seem interested, and only then do I try to start a conversation about recycling. Still, it's frustrating that so many people around here don't take recycling or other sustainability practices seriously.