Plastic-Free Challenge Update

by Jessica N. Moore

Photo Credit: Pixabay 

Nothing gets me more excited when I see challenges such as an announcement that came home in my children’s backpack last month: 

“Fairfax County Public Schools has made changes to their recycling and waste disposal procedures resulting in a significant reduction in recyclables and increase in trash.  To help bring awareness to the need to reduce our waste and consumption, we are planning a Plastic- Free Challenge Day on the First School Day of each month.”

This was just as I was finishing up a personal Plastic Free Challenge in October from Fairfax 350 to reduce the amount of single-use plastic items such as sandwich bags, grocery bags, and plastic water bottles.  While I could have done better, I know this was the first step in making improvements to just how much plastic comes through my home. 

I figure, if you educate children and families from an early age, we can have a starting point of awareness of just how much we are using and if you’re willing, find the ways to cut back.  It’s not easy if you consider all the plastic that food comes in or when my groceries are delivered, and there is one item in one bag.  But, if you see the need for change, you can sit idly by, or you can reach out to make a difference, which I intend to do in the near future.

My children’s school has won the ECO flag for three years running, and I love being part of a school community that finds the way to reduce their impact on trash from a school of 700 children and educate them about the environment.  For this challenge, they included some simple ideas to get started:

•    Pack lunch items in reusable containers and sandwich bags

•    Bring reusable utensils from home

•    Pack sandwiches and snacks in compostable paper bags

•    Bring a reusable water bottle

•    Refrain from using plastic straws

These small changes can reduce a majority of the waste in just one day, but imagine if this was a weekly challenge; we could reduce that by four times, saving many of these items from ever reaching the local landfill, the rivers, the creeks, and the ocean. 

To my readers, I’m curious if you think challenges like this would make a difference, or how would they impact your grocery shopping and meals?  If you could reduce just one single-use plastic item, what would go first?  Would you want to build upon that and do more?

When you do use plastic products, check the best way to go about recycling them.  

Now that it’s November, I hope to lessen my impact on the environment by continuing the challenge.  While there is so much going on in the world, I can only do so much, but reducing the waste passing through my hands, I feel it’s something I can accomplish.