Want to get your kids involved in helping clean up their world??  Join the 90 Days to Earth Day Challenge!!  It doesn't matter where you live... this is a COAST to COAST challenge and all K-12 students are invited to participate!!  Of course, I've registered my 3rd and 1st grade children for the challenge.  They're both super excited and we've decided to expand our clean up efforts beyond the beach because.... all drains to the ocean.

90 Days to Earth Day   

Attention Grades K-12

3rd Annual 90 Days to Earth Day challenge begins January 22

The challenge? To pick up as much litter as possible between January 22 and Earth Day, April 22, focusing on trash that is closest to making its way into our life support system – the ocean.

Streams, creeks, rivers, the Intracoastal Waterway and beaches are the targets of Ocean Cure’s annual 90 Days to Earth Day challenge. A local non-profit best known for providing surf camps to medically fragile and at-risk youth, Ocean Cure removed two-and-a-half tons of trash during its annual clean-up challenge in 2009 and 2010, recycling 80 percent of it. Now in its third year, 90 Days to Earth Day hopes to attract an unprecedented number of participants from North Carolina’s coastal region, making the first two years look more like a “warm-up” session. Participating grade K-12 students will have the opportunity to win prizes donated by local area businesses, with those completing a photo or video essay of their trash collection efforts eligible to win the grand prize, a week-long surf camp and Engrain surfboard from Indo Jax Surf and Kiteboard School.

Click here for rules and registration forms. Please fill out the registration form and mail it to Kevin Murphy at 607 N. Lake Park blvd. Carolina Beach, NC 28428. Any questions please contact him at 910-431-0594 or KMurphSBU@gmail.com.  **The challenge starts this Saturday, Jan. 22... send your registration form in ASAP!! :)

The ocean provides much of the food, water and oxygen we need to survive. It absorbs half of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that we pump into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels and most of the extra heat produced by the greenhouse effect.

Get involved. Your efforts will make a difference. 

A Plan

Back in June of 2008, we cancelled our trash service.  It wasn't something that we did over night... in fact, we used to fill up a 95-gallon trash can most every week.  Then as time went on and we made changes-- through reducing, reusing, recycling and composting-- we found that we were barely filling up our 95-gallon trash can... and only took it down to the curb every other week (and even then it'd only be half full).  Once we made the decision to cancel our service, we found that we were only filling up a 34-gallon trash can once a month (it's even less than that now).  

Of course, I'm always looking at my trash.   Ever since we cancelled our trash service, I keep wanting to eliminate MORE of our trash.  I'd really like to only have my husband take our trash can to his business dumpster a few one time a year... how AWESOME would that be??

We've definitely made a lot of changes... BUT... I know that I can do more.  And... where I can make the most impact is in the kitchen.  The trash that we do produce is plastic... and it's plastic from packaged food.  Cereal bags, pretzels, pastas, tofu, Gardein, tempeh, seitan, cheeses...

For the past couple of weeks, I've had this idea brewing... I said to my husband, "I think that I want to try to buy NO foods in plastic for one week."  His response:  Cool.  That won't be too hard.  (He either has no idea or he is a pure optimist ;) )


BUT... I've thought about it... and thought about it... and the thought keeps getting larger and it's not going anywhere...

SO... here's my plan:

The week of September 26, I am going to purchase no food in plastic.  No paper milk cartons or ice cream (they're lined with plastic), no pasta boxes with the little plastic window... if it comes in plastic... I won't be purchasing it.  I've already started talking to farmers/vendors at my Farmers Market and tomorrow I'm calling the couple of stores in town to find out what all I can buy in bulk.  With 3 kids, I have to be prepared. ;)   (Note:  One thing that I will be purchasing is local milk.  It comes in glass bottles that I return to be reused, and the only plastic is the cap.) 

The week before I challenge our family to a week of no foods in plastic... I'll be collecting all of the plastic that I do use and sharing it on the Fake Plastic Fish "Show Your Plastic Challenge".  I want everyone to see that we have waste... that we didn't start from zero....

OK... so now I'm going to throw it out there.  Join me!  

Here's what you can do:

Collect all of your plastic that you normally generate for the week of September 19- 25.  (This week collect ALL plastics that would be trashed or recycled and even plastics that you'd keep to reuse.)  Share  what you collect with Fake Plastic Fish "Show Us Your Plastic Challenge".

Then... the week of September 26- October 2, don't buy any foods packaged in plastics OR make a conscious effort to avoid food packaged in plastic.  (Once again keep all your plastic and share it on Fake Plastic Fish).  Shoot, if you want to share it all here... I'd love to post it. :)

Need tips or advice??  Feel free to email me and definitely check out the Plastic-free Guide and Recipes on Fake Plastic Fish.

Thinking that you want to do the challenge with me... post a comment and let me know!!