Coalition of North American Zoos and Aquariums

Plastic Free Ecochallenge 2019

July 1 - July 31, 2019

J. Elizabeth Clark

New York Aquarium

"Doing my small part to help save the planet! I'm on the A team, because there is no planet B!"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
779 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

community event

hosted or attended
UP TO

5.0

conversations

with people
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

595

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

8.0

petitions

signed
UP TO

27

pieces of plastic cutlery

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

27

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

1.0

waste audit

conducted
UP TO

52

zero-waste meals

consumed

J. Elizabeth's actions

Family

Plastic Free Lunch Boxes

I will only pack reusable cutlery, drinkware and tupperware-like containers in my children's lunches to reduce plastic waste.

COMPLETED 27
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Sign a Petition

I will sign a petition in support of a plastic-related initiative in my state/province.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Make Your Own

I will try new recipe(s) or food preparation method(s) each day, such as canning, pickling, making yogurt, or baking granola bars or bread.

COMPLETED 25
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Minimize Packaging

I will purchase food items with the least amount of packaging.

COMPLETED 26
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Cook a Zero-Plastic Waste Meal

I will prepare 2 meal(s) at home each day without using any items packaged in single-use plastic.

COMPLETED 26
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Join a Cleanup Effort

I will host or participate in a beach, highway, river, or other cleanup effort in my community.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Food

Advocate For More Food Packaging Options

I will advocate for alternatives to single use packaging at local grocery stores, markets, or work.

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

Lifestyle

Travel Eating

If traveling, I will bring my own airplane snacks and eat at local restaurants to avoid take-out containers.

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

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

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

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 Sign a Petition

What is a plastic-related issue in your state/province?

J. Elizabeth Clark 7/31/2019 6:16 AM

Grocery shopping--bags and plastic containers!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Complete a Waste Audit

What did you learn about the waste you create? Where can you reduce the most?

J. Elizabeth Clark 7/31/2019 6:16 AM

I think as a household, we can continue to work on food and waste connected to shopping. We're making our own yogurt. We're going to make our own salad dressing. We gave up cherry tomatoes if they come in plastic. I feel like once we have the kitchen conquered, then we can move onto other areas of waste. In particular, I think our next challenge is personal care items.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Natural Fibers

What are the benefits (to people, animals, and the environment) of purchasing clothes made with natural fibers?

J. Elizabeth Clark 7/31/2019 6:14 AM

Obviously we are learning about the effects of micro plastics in our clothing and how they are moving into the water. Overall, when possible, I do think natural fibers are best.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Advocate For More Food Packaging Options

Single use plastics have become normalized in our society to the point that most people don't see them as a problem. What would you say to a friend, colleague, or family member who may not understand why these disposables are an issue?

J. Elizabeth Clark 7/30/2019 10:57 AM

I have been pointing out the connection between healthy oceans and lessening plastic consumption. Most everyone I know is an ocean lover, so that has been a good “sell.”

I do have to say, however, I’m not sure how well my attempts to convince local businesses went. I approached the grocery store, our natural food store, and our CSA. We’ll see if it has any effect!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Estimate Your Plastic Consumption and Go #PlasticNeutral

What did you find out about your plastic consumption by using the calculator? What did or didn't surprise you?

J. Elizabeth Clark 7/30/2019 10:55 AM

I was surprised at how much plastic I use, even when I am so actively trying to avoid it. Plastic really is everywhere and is hard to avoid. I was surprised at the places it snuck in!

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J. Elizabeth Clark 7/30/2019 10:53 AM

I’m really sad that our challenge is almost at the end! Checking in, doing actions, and reflecting in community have made for a very powerful experience.

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J. Elizabeth Clark 7/16/2019 5:53 AM

I have been on a plastic awareness and lessening my impact on the environment for a long time. But, I constantly struggle with my on-the-go lifestyle and convenience (and not living in a rural area where I could do things like grow food and compost, although I have been very excited by the new NYC composting initiatives). I am really excited about this month's challenge to continue my efforts and really focus on what I can do even better. I also LOVE the community aspect of this and getting ideas from my community. So often, I feel like I totally alone doing this. I love a space where we can think, reflect, and share! Hooray!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Family Plastic Free Lunch Boxes

Most of us know that the "3 R's" are reduce, reuse, recycle. Recycling is most heavily emphasized in modern Western culture. How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle? How does considering implementing these "R's" make you feel?

J. Elizabeth Clark 7/16/2019 5:45 AM

I have to credit Neil on this one. For years, I always bought lunch "out" at work, which meant a lot of take out. But, we pack our lunches everyday. I even bought a super cool Husky lunch sack that keeps things ridiculously cold and gives me lots of space. During the semester, it's not unusual for me to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the go. So, packing my meals has saved me a lot of money and has led to lots of healthier food choices. It's changed my perspective so much that I actually get annoyed when I can't do it (like when I'm traveling for work). I really enjoy packing lunch, in particular. With this action, we are definitely reducing, reusing, and refusing. It's not about repairing so much (? not sure how that applies to packing your own lunch which is the reflection question I'm answering?).

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Travel Eating

Was this action easy or difficult to do? How did it change your travel experience?

J. Elizabeth Clark 7/16/2019 5:41 AM

So, I am in Atlanta for work. I had a shortish 2 1/2 hour flight. Normally, on that flight, I would have both a beverage and a snack. Instead, I packed my own snacks at home. I was a little less than thrilled that Newark now requires you to pull all food out of your carry on and have it x-rayed directly, but I convinced myself that it would have been x-rayed anyway coming into the terminal, either in my carry on bag, or if it were going to one of the many concession stands, Right? I always carry my Kleen Kanteen, so water is no problem, yet I usually take a drink on the plane (my go to is V-8 juice). But, this was a first in carrying my own snacks and drinking the water I already had INSTEAD of another drink that meant another can & plastic packet for the landfill. I mean, why do we even NEED to snack on a 2 1/2 hour flight? Boredom? It was a success. For the flight home on Friday night, I'm going to just skip snacks altogether, unless I can find fruit.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Watch a Documentary

Which documentary did you choose to watch? What did you learn?

J. Elizabeth Clark 7/16/2019 5:32 AM

So, I've previously been through a LOT of the ocean / plastic documentaries. Since I am really focused on food in this month's challenge, I was interested in waste and where food waste goes, so I decided on these documentaries for the month: Time to Choose, Island Earth, Manufactured Landscapes, Minimalism, and Waste Land. For this particular challenge, I watched Island Earth, which is about the relationship between GMOs, food production, and the islands of Hawaii, with a particular focus on the relationship between people, culture, and food. I highly recommend it.

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