Happy second day of spring, We would have loved to see an Illini win this afternoon, but what a great year for the Illinois men’s basketball team! Welcome to the final week of the Plastic Free Challenge! We cannot believe how quickly March is flying by and we are so grateful for your dedication to the process of tracking and reducing your plastic waste. You have one week left to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and try something new to decrease your waste! If you find that you have managed to either recycle or reuse items in your daily life, why not try something new by helping someone else or sharing a few tips with us! If you have not already, please submit your Week 3 Google Form by Monday, March 22.

This Thursday, we will send the final tip of the challenge: how to go forward and live sustainably, even when the Plastic Free Challenge ends. You did not do all of this hard work to revert back to using disposable items or for “points”; now, it is time to use what you have learned and help others in their own path to waste minimalism. We encourage you to start thinking about what tips you will incorporate in your daily lives, what you still plan to work on and work toward, and everything you have learned this past month. Until then, enjoy your final week. As a group, let’s try to generate the least amount of points this week compared to the rest of the month!

Here is the Week 4 Form. Please submit the form and grid by Monday, March 29. We look forward to checking in on Thursday with information about the end of the challenge, including the prize raffle. As you will see on the Week 3 and Week 4 Google forms, we are encouraging each of you to please send a photo or short video of a new sustainable action, story, or image that encompasses "plastic-free living" for you. For example, you can show off your bulk purchases or containers, recycling or composting in action, or even a reusable item that you regularly use instead of a disposable/single-use product. Don't worry about producing a high-quality video - this is supposed to be fun and not stressful! Feel free to upload this to the form or email us.

Remember to reach out with questions, comments, or stories about your challenge experience. Do you have any feedback for us? Is there anything you particularly enjoyed or would like to see changed? We would love to hear!

Have a great week and finish strong! 

Meredith Moore, iSEE Sustainable Programs Coordinator
Emily Dickett, iSEE Sustainability Intern