Aishwarya Shetty

Millions of tons of plastic is produced each year worldwide. Each day, I will conduct a plastics audit of what I buy and use throughout the challenge (kitchen, bathroom, personal care products, etc.), to see how single-use plastic shows up in my life. I will find plastic-free alternatives to these products and advocate for alternatives to single-use packaging at local grocery stores, product manufacturers, at work, or on campus.

Hand washing dishes can use more energy and hot water than a dishwasher. To save water, I will use a dishwasher and scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading them into the dishwasher.

An estimated 71% of seabirds and 30% of turtles have been found with plastics in their stomachs. When marine wildlife ingest plastic, they have a 50% mortality rate. By asking for no straw when placing a drink order, I will keep 3 plastic straw(s) of out of the ocean each day.

The more stuff we consume, the more greenhouse gasses we put into the atmosphere. I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach this month and only buy things I need.

I will gather a group of friends, family, neighbors or colleagues to make 2 phone calls to public officials or companies to advocate for planet-friendly policies.

Public transportation reduces pollution, improves community, and creates safe streets. I will use public transit 20 miles per day and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.