Surendra Gayakvad

I will start a recycling program at my workplace, dorm, or elsewhere on campus.

I will spend at least 5 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.

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

I will replace manual thermostats with programmable ones.

I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.

I will switch to washing my clothes in cold water, saving up to 133 lbs of CO2 a month and 1,600 lbs of CO2 over the course of the next year.

I will use an energy meter to monitor my energy use and identify opportunities to save power.

I will upgrade the windows or weatherstripping in my home or office to reduce air leaks and save on energy costs.

Whether it's by donating or volunteering, I will research the benefits of low-income solar and find out how I can support low-income solar initiatives in my area.

I will keep 1 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.

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

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.

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.

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 4 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

A community can be brought to its knees without dependable power, often affecting the most vulnerable. I will write 1 letter(s) or email(s) per day to a public official or company to advocate for a more resilient power grid (e.g. microgrids, solar+storage).

I will avoid sending 5 disposable cup(s) to the landfill each day by using a reusable mug.

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.

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.

I will avoid sending up to .69 lbs (.31 kg) of food waste to the landfill each day by composting my food or learning how to.

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

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.

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

I will replace 5 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

I will organize one of Ecochallenge.org's discussion courses, such as Powering a Bright Future, with classmate, friends, co-workers, or family.