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Welcome to 2020 People's Ecochallenge!

Watch the short video below to learn the basics.
You'll be an 2020 People's Ecochallenge expert in no time!

Ecochallenge.org
2020 People's Ecochallenge
October 7 - October 28, 2020
Andrew Grillot's avatar

Andrew Grillot

EMME Chicago

"The US is 4% of the world's population, but 15% of its emissions. I'm already vegetarian, don't own a car, and live in an apartment, but there are still plenty of changes for me to make. "

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 746 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    19
    disposable cups
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    17
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    77
    plastic bottles
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    38
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    23
    plastic straws
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    92
    pounds of CO2
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    3.3
    pounds of paper
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    1.0
    waste audit
    conducted

Andrew's actions

Simplicity

Core Values

Do at Home

We may find more meaning and joy in life when our actions are aligned with our personal values. I will determine what my top 3-5 core values are so that I can better align my actions with them.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Watch a Documentary about Racial Injustice

Do at Home

I will watch 1 documentary(ies) about systemic racism.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Connect with a Nonprofit

Do at Home

I will connect with a local nonprofit, environmental or otherwise, and find out how I can get involved or become a member.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Learn About Trans, Femme, and Nonbinary Experiences

Do at Home

I will spend 30 minutes learning about the experiences of trans, femme, and/or nonbinary people.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Sign Up to Vote

Do at Home

I will make sure I’m registered to vote. While I’m at it, I’ll sign up to help others register too!

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Switch to Cold Water

Do at Home

I will switch to washing my clothes in cold water, saving up to 1,600 lbs of CO2 over the course of the next year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Choose Clean/Renewable Energy

Do at Home

I will sign up for my utility company's clean/renewable energy option.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Know My Health

I will get my Core Four Biometrics tests (blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and BMI).

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Go Get a Check Up

I will make an appointment for my annual physical.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Personal Waste Audit

Do at Home

I will collect all of my unrecyclable, non-compostable trash to raise my awareness of how much I send to the landfill.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Tour a Waste Management Facility

Do at Home

I will spend at least 20 minute(s) touring (virtually or in person) a local dump/transfer station, material recovery facility, and/or landfill to learn about our local waste and waste recovery streams.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Go Paperless

Do at Home

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 3.4lbs (1.5kg) a month or 41lbs (18.6kg) a year by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Do at Home

Historically, marginalized and low-income communities live closer to landfills, contributing to a multitude of health problems. I will find out how I can limit single-use items and do my best to limit the waste I generate. I will keep 2 container(s) out of the landfill each day.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Skip the Straw

Do at Home

Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our waterways. I will keep 1 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill and ocean each day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Research Local Waste Sites

Do at Home

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Prevent Recycling Contamination

Do at Home

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 10 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use a Reusable Mug

Do at Home

I will avoid sending 1 disposable cup(s) to the landfill each day by using a reusable mug.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use a Reusable Water Bottle

Do at Home

I will keep 5 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

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?

  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Go Paperless
    Reducing your paper mail can reduce mental clutter as well as physical waste -- by reducing what is coming in, you can reduce what is going into the recycling bin too. How does it make you feel? What is the next step you will take to reduce your waste?
    Andrew Grillot's avatar
    Andrew Grillot 10/21/2020 3:11 PM
    I always forget to do it but I need to keep junk mail to use for packaging boxes. 
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Reduce Single-Use Disposables
    What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What did you substitute or could be substituted instead?
    Andrew Grillot's avatar
    Andrew Grillot 10/20/2020 10:59 AM
    I definitely still use produce bags from the grocery store. I guess I could get something fabric but that extra weight would add up. I don't know of a good alternative. 
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Skip the Straw
    How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle?
    Andrew Grillot's avatar
    Andrew Grillot 10/19/2020 9:34 AM
    I'm pretty sure reduce is the most important one. It always has a carbon output of 0, whereas the others are still consuming something in some form. So, to do more reducing, you just have to cut habits out. 
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Personal Waste Audit
    Why is it often difficult to understand the impacts our purchases and waste have on other people, animals, and places?
    Andrew Grillot's avatar
    Andrew Grillot 10/16/2020 5:56 PM
    Because we only see the finished product. And it's hard to conceptualize emissions beyond what we directly output ourselves. 
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Energy Switch to Cold Water
    What do you plan to do with the money you save from making more energy efficient choices?
    Andrew Grillot's avatar
    Andrew Grillot 10/15/2020 3:19 PM
    I didn't even know there was an advantage to using warm water with laundry. I've always used cold so I can wash whites and colors together. 
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Use a Reusable Water Bottle
    While water bottles are needed for health and safety in certain places, we can do more to reduce the unnecessary use of them. What are the barriers to you using reusable bottles and tap water instead of bottled water? How could you make this a permanent habit?
    Andrew Grillot's avatar
    Andrew Grillot 10/13/2020 8:27 PM
    I've been water bottle only for years. The biggest initial barrier I remember was regularly cleaning it. Pro tip: Use denture tablets
    Read More