Stephanie Goulet
"This month, I want to focus on advocating for more systemic change to address the take over of plastic in every aspect of our lives. Aside from that primary goal, I'd like to increase a couple of my individual habits and perhaps even meet some new people by volunteering. Good luck to all!"
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 404 TOTAL
participant impact
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UP TO2.0conversationswith people
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UP TO25minutesspent learning
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UP TO27petitionssigned
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UP TO20pieces of litterpicked up
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UP TO9.0public officials or leaderscontacted
Stephanie's actions
Community
Pick Up the Phone
I will make 1 phone call(s) per day to a public official or company to advocate for planet-friendly policies.
Food
Advocate For More Food Packaging Options
I will advocate for alternatives to single use packaging at local grocery stores, markets, or work.
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.
Community
Visit A Waste Management Facility
I will visit a local dump/transfer station, material recovery facility, and/or landfill to learn about the waste stream.
Lifestyle
Homemade Cleaners
I will make my own cleaning products at home.
Community
Write Letters or Emails
I will write 1 letter(s) or email(s) per day to a public official or company to advocate for planet-friendly policies.
Personal Care
Pearly Whites
I will purchase toothpaste in an aluminum tube or in a glass jar or make my own!
Personal Care
Lather Up
I will replace my soaps, shampoos, and conditions with either a bar or refillable option.
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.
Food
Start Composting
I will start a compost collection at home, work, or school.
Community
Sign a Petition
I will sign a petition in support of a plastic-related initiative in my state/province.
Community
Keep My Community Clean
I will pick up 20 piece(s) of litter each day.
Community
Volunteer in my Community
I will volunteer 10 hour(s) in my community.
Community
Join a Cleanup Effort
I will host or participate in a beach, highway, river, or other cleanup effort in my community.
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?
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Stephanie Goulet 7/15/2019 2:31 PMToday I wrote two company "letters" through the form of the little feedback survey on the bottom of a receipt. I think this is a majorly underrated way to show that company customers want environmental progress.
It's so easy, they're already asking for the feedback, and they know that you bought something from them so I believe are more inclined to listen to your feedback than if you just emailed a random company. One of the companies I wrote to was a restaurant, which I was pleasantly surprised did not provide plastic straws, so instead of having to suggest they don't offer them by default to every customer, I was thankful to be able to write my gratitude that they already have that practice happening at their restaurant.
The other was Kohl's which, according to their 2018 CSR report, has actually made some good environmental progress, but at the location I went to I didn't see many (or any) of these changes. There were plastic film bags and no recycling bin to bring them to, there were no electric vehicle charging stations, no option given for an emailed copy of a receipt instead of a paper one, and no on-site solar for this location despite the ample sunlight on its roof and over its parking lot. -
Stephanie Goulet 7/08/2019 2:40 PMI made the first step to starting a compost collection in my apartment building by emailing the building management. My city already has compost collection infrastructure, and the management would just have to sign up for it but has yet to do so. It should be simple, but like so many of these challenges there are unnecessary roadblocks and misguided preconceptions about how difficult things actually are to change.
Fingers crossed! -
Stephanie Goulet 7/04/2019 7:30 AMEven though I'm trying to reduce plastic on the individual level, I'm really trying to focus on advocacy during this challenge so that it is more convenient for me - and others - to do so as well.
I've never sent out a letter to any company about anything in my life before today, but just sent my first one giving feedback to a local grocery store chain in Brooklyn, NY. Thanks to some - okay, a lot of - help from the templates found online, I sent the below letter to the company. This article with a template was especially helpful if anyone else needs to see a good example to help write their own letter: https://www.goingzerowaste.com/blog/how-to-address-businesses-about-their-packaging-and-eco-friendly-initiatives-scripts
Good morning,
I hope you're doing well. Ideal is one of most convenient places for me to grocery shop. I especially like being able to bring my own bag to buy pinto beans and fresh garlic without any plastic packaging. Right now, I bring my own bags to avoid using the plastic ones at check-out as well, but am very excited to see New York’s ban on plastic bags take effect at Ideal by March 2020.
I wanted to know if their were any plans at Ideal to increase the availability purchasing other items in bulk with our own containers like pasta and cereal. If so, I’d love to know what type of items might become available in the next year or so.
If there aren’t any plans for this, I’d like to ask that Ideal consider adding some more of these options to help increase package-free alternatives for this area of Brooklyn. Items I’m particularly interested in other than the pasta and cereal I already mentioned include dried spices like dill and parsley, popcorn kernels, flour, and chocolate chips.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Stephanie