Plastic Free EcoChallenge: July 1-31, 2022
Inspired by the Australian-founded initiative, Plastic Free EcoChallenge is a 31-day international challenge to raise awareness about the problems with plastic, to provide opportunities to learn about reducing and refusing plastics where possible, and to encourage individuals to create small changes that have a huge impact.
Throughout July, participants use the EcoChallenge platform, which offers the opportunity to choose actions to reduce their single-use plastic.
Participants join the "SF Teaching Zoo Zero Wasters" team, and choose actions they pledge to commit to during the month of July. Each challenge category has a variety of actions, from watching videos, writing letters, changing daily behaviors or simply pledging to pick up trash. Teams are able to see their collective impact throughout the month and track other teams to encourage healthy competition. The goal is to turn these actions into habits, creating a more sustainable lifestyle.
Team Member Benefits
- All team members will receive $1 off zoo admission throughout the month of July. Zoo Members receive an extra $1 off guest admission.
- Discounts at local businesses throughout the month of July with proof of team membership.
- 20% off purchases at Life Unplastic
- 20% off purchases at Alachua Habitat For Humanity ReStore
- 15% off purchases at The Humane Society of North Central Florida Thrift & Pet Supply Store (both locations)
- 10% off one item $50 or less (excluding designer and furniture) at Sandy's Savvy Chic Resale Boutique
- July 1-8 ONLY
- 10% off purchases $50 or less (excluding designer items) at Flashbacks Recycled Fashions
- July 1-7 ONLY
- Sign up to compost with Beaten Path Compost in July and get your first month free!
- Opportunity to earn prizes
- Invitation to a Zero Waste Gainesville presentation at the SF Teaching Zoo on July 26 at 6 p.m.
- Local cleanup hosted by Current Problems at Sweetwater Preserve on July 30.
- Encouragement and tips from team captains throughout the month.
- Santa Fe College students will receive additional activity invitations through the Office of Civic Engagement and Service at Student Life.
Prizes
- The first 25 team members who earn 150 points will receive 1 free adult admission to the SF Teaching Zoo
- The first 25 team members who earn 225 points will receive 10% off a gift shop purchase at the SF Teaching Zoo
- The top 3 point earners will receive a gift card to Life Unplastic.
Watch this video to learn how to choose and record your actions!
2021 Summary
In 2021, the SF Teaching Zoo Zero Wasters team finished in 9th place out of 391 total teams!
Collectively, 102 team members prevented up to 1,400 plastic containers, 615 pieces of plastic cutlery, 455 plastic bottles, and 517 plastic straws from ending up in a landfill – or our waters. Team members also picked up almost 1000 pieces of litter, spent over 3000 minutes learning about plastic issues, and had over 100 conversation with people about the problem with plastic.
As always, a huge thanks to our community partners at Life Unplastic, The Repurpose Project, and Zero Waste Gainesville for your commitment to sustainability and helping to make our challenge a success.
To learn more about total impacts from the over 6,500 participants, visit the Plastic Free EcoChallenge Impacts page.
2020 Summary
This year, the SF Teaching Zoo Zero Wasters team finished in 7th place out of 381 teams around North America! Collectively, the team saved up to 801 pieces of plastic cutlery, 245 plastic straws, 311 plastic containers and 272 plastic bottles from the landfill. They picked up almost 400 pieces of litter, signed 29 environmental petitions, and spent nearly 2500 minutes learning about plastic consumption! Learn more about the collective impact from all participants on the Plastic Free EcoChallenge impact page.
This year, community partners offered amazing opportunities for the participants. Life Unplastic gave discounts on their plastic free products and bulk items and The Repurpose Project hosted a free screening of The Story of Plastic with a post-screening Zoom discussion. Gainesville is lucky to have organizations continuously working to reduce waste and educate our community.
2019 Summary
- 10 Gainesville community teams
- 6 Gainesville teams finished in the top 100 (out of 776 teams!)
- 248,356 plastic items were not consumed during the month of July among all participants.
- 15,238 participants across 54 countries and 58 states/regions