Lauren Sass

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 5 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

I will fix faucets or report leaky faucets to facilities that have been wasting up to 9 gallons (34 L) of water a day or 270 (1,020 L) gallons of water a month per faucet.

I will explore at least one new hiking trail or nature walk in my area.

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

I will make an appointment for my annual physical.

I will offer to help 1 person(s) who are in need each day.

Both systemic and personal sustainability are important! I will develop a plan with my medical professionals to achieve my best health and live my life to the fullest.

I will visit a nearby farm to pick my own fruits and veggies.

I will try a new method of food preparation, such as canning, pickling, or baking bread.

I will advocate for local and/or organic food options at work or on campus.

I will advocate for alternatives to single-use packaging at local grocery stores, markets, at work, or on campus to reduce pollution in the environment and in local communities.

I will learn about sustainable fashion and begin trying to practice it in my own life.

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

I will find out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in recycling dumpsters or my curbside bin.

I will save up to .21 lbs (.09 kg) of paper per day by switching from one-sided printing to two-sided when I have to print documents.

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 0.11lbs (0.05kg) a day or 3.3lbs (1.6kg) a month by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.

Cheap, single-use items and disposable packaging end up blowing around as litter more often in poor and POC-majority neighborhoods. I will find out how I can limit single-use items and do my best to limit the waste I generate.

If at all possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our waterways. I will keep 4 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill and ocean each day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

I will avoid sending 2 disposable cup(s) to the landfill each day by using a reusable mug.

I will spend 5 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.

I will keep 2 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.

I will spend at least 5 minutes using the resources provided to learn about water justice and find out how I can get involved in local initiatives.

What can lack of access to nutritious food affect a community? How can having access to nutritious food help a community become more resilient?

I will meet 1 new neighbor(s) each day.