Karina Bonin

"To reduce, reuse, educate my community of friends and family on environmental friendly lifestyle options, and make local impacts where I can."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
592 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

90

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

47

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

48

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill

Karina's actions

Lifestyle

Watch a Documentary

I will watch a documentary film about waste with family and friends and talk about what we learned.

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

Food

Shop the Bulk Bins

I will purchase dry goods from the bulk section of my grocery store, and use my own containers to do so.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Personal Care

That Was a Close Shave

I will replace my disposable razors with steel razors. Why not try using hair conditioner instead of shaving foam for that baby smooth feel?

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Use Reusable Bags

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

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Buy Unpackaged Produce

I will purchase produce items without plastic packaging.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Lifestyle

Homemade Cleaners

I will make my own cleaning products at home.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Skip the Straw

I will keep 2 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill per day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Takeout Pro

I will use my own containers when ordering takeout.

COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Personal Care

Fresh as a Daisy

I will use deodorant either from a bar or a jar or I will make my own.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Share My Actions

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

Karina Bonin 7/24/2019 4:30 PM

Social media has proven to be an effective platform to share my values with friends and families. For the past several weeks I have been sharing data or lifestyle changes that I have made to either avoid plastic or producing any waste at all. The feedback I have gotten from friends and family has been really positive. Several people have told me that I'm giving them new ideas for how to reduce their waste or to change their habits. A few people have told me that seeing my posts has just made them realize how dependent they are on plastic and how they want to change that. ... I'd say that's a win.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Personal Care That Was a Close Shave

What have you noticed about the economic and social impact of switching to steel razors? Was there ever really a need for disposable razors, or do you think it was just a way to sell more things?

Karina Bonin 7/23/2019 10:58 AM

Economically its so much cheaper to switch to an all steel razor. It was $30 for what will likely be my razor supply for a couple of years. I don't understand why disposable razors became so popular. Steel razors are not inconvenient at all and it's great that the blade can be recycled and replaced and the razor can be used indefinitely. Yes, I do believe disposable products are marketed as more convenient to consumers and it allows companies to continue to sell more products with a consumer dependency.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Homemade Cleaners

What did you learn by making your own cleaning products? What is the biggest difference in making vs buying?

Karina Bonin 7/23/2019 10:51 AM

I learned that making my own cleaning products can be so easy! I thought more ingredients would be involved but it was super simple, smells great, and feels healthier to use in my home.

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Karina Bonin 7/23/2019 10:47 AM

The challenge has been going well so far. I have been wanting to try a more zero-waste/plastic free lifestyle and this challenge has been a great opportunity to push me in that direction. I have been learning about how much food I can get in bulk and how easy it has been to make products from scratch such as cleaners and alternative milks. I've been updating items around the house little by little. I'm excited for the transformation that has been happening at home. I have also been sharing what I have been learning or doing with friends and family and apparently I have inspired several people to rethink their waste habits.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Buy Unpackaged Produce

Why do you think these produce products started amassing so much plastic packaging? Who is the plastic packaging really serving -- the consumer, the producer, or someone else?

Karina Bonin 7/11/2019 11:53 AM

I think plastic packaging became a convenient, effective, and cheap way to preserve produce and/or neatly contain produce. The increased longevity of produce in stores is serving the interest of the vendor/grocery stores.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Personal Care Pearly Whites

Currently most of the packaging for toothpaste is plastic. How can you advocate for more alternatives through your purchasing power and influence in community?

Karina Bonin 7/10/2019 1:36 PM

I recently purchased the chewable toothpaste tabs because I was running out of my usual tubed toothpaste. I'm still getting used to the tabs, but it seems to be working well. I bought the tabs in the bulk section at the people's Coop on Alberta.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Skip the Straw

Have you noticed a shift in your community as more messaging about reusable straws becomes mainstream? Cite some examples.

Karina Bonin 7/10/2019 1:33 PM

I have definitely noticed a shift in the public's perception of waste. It's great to see a spotlight shining on plastic straws and I hope this really leads to more conversations on single-use plastics and plastics in general and what their impact is on our environment. Gimlet Media's Science vs. podcast recently did an episode on plastic straws and why straws got so much attention.

https://gimletmedia.com/shows/science-vs/94hwzr/plastics-the-final-straw

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Use Reusable Bags

How difficult was this challenge for you? What made it easy or difficult?

Karina Bonin 7/10/2019 1:29 PM

The only challenge I've encountered with using my own bags for produce is that I'm low on supplies. I was only able to buy a couple of veggies the other day when I went grocery shopping. I'll be planning to make more produce bags so that I don't have this issue in the future.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Takeout Pro

How could you mitigate issues that may arise if the restaurant does not want to let you use your own containers at first?

Karina Bonin 7/07/2019 10:49 AM

I brought in a large thermos to a coffee shop to fill up with drip coffee for friends that were hosting us. I could tell that the barista was a bit reluctant to fill up the thermos, but I told them about how we were trying to use zero single-use plastics and I gave them the total volume in ounces so they could charge me appropriately. I think when met with hesitation, giving the vendor some back story and showing them how it's equivalent to what they already sell, it makes it easier for them to work with your reusable containers.

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