30-day Swap Challenge: day-by-day tracker
One swap a week for four weeks plus a wild-card, with daily ticks, weekly ‘did it stick?’ checks and grams avoided at the end.
Individuals
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Bamboo (solid and uncoated pulp)
Fast-growing grass used solid for cutlery, straws and toothbrush handles or as pulp for cushioning; avoid rigid bamboo-melamine composites, which are plastic.
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Cork
Bark of the cork oak, harvested without felling; replaces plastic stoppers, EVA foam and underlay, with a vendor life-cycle assessment (LCA) showing a negative…
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Glass bottles and jars
Glass never sheds microplastics or leaches chemicals, so it is far less harmful than plastic if it ends up in nature. But it takes…
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Silicone
A synthetic silicon-oxygen polymer, not strictly plastic but not plastic-free; a durability swap for zip bags, lids and straws, never a biodegradable one.
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Wool, cotton and linen textiles
Natural fibres that shed during washing like synthetics but biodegrade in months to years instead of persisting; the alternative to polyester, nylon and acrylic.
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Paper straws, and the caveat about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
The default plastic-straw replacement after bans, but a 2023 study found per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in 90 percent of paper straw brands; stainless…
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Refillable bottle instead of bottled water
A single reusable bottle used daily replaces hundreds of PET bottles a year, and its impact becomes negligible over a year of use whatever…