Coalition of North American Zoos and Aquariums

Plastic Free Ecochallenge 2019

July 1 - July 31, 2019

Mary Dobrzynski

Maryland Zoo

"To keep the "landfill" and "my life" free of single use plastics. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,452 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

5.0

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

5.0

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

62

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

31

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

1.0

waste audit

conducted
UP TO

93

zero-waste meals

consumed

Mary's actions

Pets

Rubber Glove Pet Hair Removal

I will use a rubber glove to remove pet hair from clothes, carpets and furniture.

COMPLETED 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Lifestyle

Naked Bins

I will either line my trash cans with repurposed newspaper or paper bags, or I will not line my trash cans at all.

COMPLETED 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Use Reusable Bags

I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases, including produce bags.

COMPLETED 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Lifestyle

Complete a Waste Audit

I will conduct a waste audit - including recyclables and compost - to understand how much waste I create and where I can reduce the most.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Lifestyle

Natural Fibers

When available, I will purchase clothing made with natural fibers, such as cotton, linen, or wool, rather than synthetic fibers.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Cook a Zero-Plastic Waste Meal

I will prepare 3 meal(s) at home each day without using any items packaged in single-use plastic.

COMPLETED 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Start Composting

I will start a compost collection at home, work, or school.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Family

Glass Bottle Baby

I will replace 5 plastic bottles with glass or stainless steel alternatives.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Personal Care

Pearly Whites

I will purchase toothpaste in an aluminum tube or in a glass jar or make my own!

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Share My Actions

I will make my environmental actions visible by posting to my social media networks.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Estimate Your Plastic Consumption and Go #PlasticNeutral

I will visit rePurpose website, complete the 3-minute plastic consumption calculator, and explore how I can reBalance my annual plastic footprint.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Skip the Straw

I will keep 1 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill per day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

COMPLETED 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Pets

All Natural Pet Toys

I will give my pets natural alternatives to toys like femur bones and antlers, canvas, natural rubber, hemp, rope or cotton toys. Or I will make our own toys from recycled items found in our home!

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Create Your Own Action

Zero Single Use Mrs Meyers Products

I am addicted to Mrs.. Meyers products. Each month I buy another plastic bottle of dish soap, hand soap for the bathroom and kitchen and multi purpose surface cleaner. Grove Collaborative.com (where I shop) has bundled specials to include a glass bottle and pouch of refills (the pouch contains 60% less plastic than the single use bottles). My goal is to replace the single use dish soap and hand soap bottles this month and the other cleaning products over the next few months.

COMPLETED 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

Mary Dobrzynski 8/01/2019 4:51 AM

The Challenge is over. Its It's sad to see it end as it was an integral part of my morning routine. My takeaway is that "small plastic free practices will lead to a sustainable lifestyle change." I thoroughly enjoyed the Challenge🤗🦋

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Mary Dobrzynski 7/30/2019 9:20 PM

Congrats!!! Team Maryland Zoo and all team members. Another stellar year, another win.

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Mary Dobrzynski 7/30/2019 9:17 PM

Burning the midnight oil doing some writing and thought about the Plastic Free journey I have completed. Yet, the journey has just begun. Last year I participated in this Challenge but failed to sustained a few plastic-free challenges. This year I have incorporated all challenges into my life and truly lived the each day. A sustainable approach and lifestyle. I look forward to next year .....

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Mary Dobrzynski 7/30/2019 5:17 AM

Through my daily Challenge to either line my trash (I chose my 8 gallon kitchen can) with newspaper or leave it naked; I chose to leave it naked. Early on I lined the can with newspaper and it was no really working to well. So, I switched to a naked can. Wow!!! Its It's amazing that marked reduction in waste from the kitchen. No plastic produce bags, no styrofoam trays/plastic wrap, no veggie/fruit peels and so many more "no" items. I'm succeeding in placing my fruits and produce in reusable bags as well as buying in bulk placing the items in my containers. Transitioning, before the Challenge, to a Plant-based lifestyle has helped with the Challenge and beyond.

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Mary Dobrzynski 7/29/2019 5:01 AM

Mrs Meyers single use plastic bottles can be replaced by glass containers via Grove; where I purchase my Mrs Meyers products. They are very expensive for a glass container. Looking around my kitchen, I found many reusable Mrs Meyers glass candle jar. After a short search online I found lids with pumps which fit the jars. Viola!!! No more single use plastic bottles and Mrs Meyers sells jugs of dish/hand soap to refill the jars. Yeah!!! Its It's a double win for the landfill and my ingenious solution.

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Mary Dobrzynski 7/28/2019 6:29 AM

I'm not certain how to change the "uncompleted" status to "completed" - HELP😊

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- Mary Dobrzynski 7/30/2019 5:20 AM
  
  I found the "how to'.
  
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Mary Dobrzynski 7/28/2019 6:25 AM

I've come a long way with purchasing plastic packaged produce for my zero plastic meals. Broccoli is a staple for me and I've found to grocery markets which do not package it on a styrofoam tray wrapped in plastic - yeah!! I have not yet attempted making my own yogurt - soon. This Challenge has given me the opportunity to pause, look around my home and seek out "single use' plastics. The best takeaway.....the challenges are sustainable

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Mary Dobrzynski 7/27/2019 5:03 AM

I recently purged my closets from clothes other than those made of natural fibers. This coincided perfectly with building a capsule wardrobe. I love to sew as much as shop. I look forward to making several pair of linen pants and shorts. My favorite boutique in DC is Pua Naturally (clothes are in Nepal of natural fibers. I have a few jackets that I bought roughly 10 years ago, they wear well.

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Mary Dobrzynski 7/26/2019 6:08 AM

Can I say how much I love my bamboo straws?Yes I do. I no longer frequent Starbucks for drinks of any sort. I drink my water/prtein smoothies at home from upcycled Mason jars. The reusable straws are the best. Where I used to get daily drinks with a plastic straw, I'm now averting 30-31 plastic straws from the local landfill - Yeah!!!!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Share My Actions

In what ways is social media an effective tool for sharing your values?

Mary Dobrzynski 7/25/2019 9:19 AM

Social media is a very effective way tool for sharing my values regarding a plastics free lifestyle. Most recently the community coordinator for City Arts Apts, where I live, shared a city effort in composting at the Farmers Market under !-83. As I am doing composting at home and freezing my vegetable peels for future veggie broth, I shared this with the social media site for the composting effort. I received a few positive responses....Yeah!! its marvelous how social media provides instant connect with so many people. Share, Share, Share ...... the idea for freezing veggie peels came from a blog post that I follow on FB.

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