Coalition of North American Zoos and Aquariums

Plastic Free Ecochallenge 2019

July 1 - July 31, 2019

Sarah Leach Smith

Museum of Life and Science

"To become more aware of how single-use plastics can be removed from my life!"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
945 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

160

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

84

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

27

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill

Sarah's 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 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Buy Unpackaged Produce

I will purchase produce items without plastic packaging.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Minimize Packaging

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

COMPLETED 10
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Use Reusable Water Bottles

I will use a reusable bottle and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 1 disposable plastic bottle(s) a day.

COMPLETED 28
DAILY ACTIONS

Pets

Pet Waste

I will spend 10 minutes learning how to compost pet waste at home or research pet waste composting services available in my area.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Pets

Invest in a Pooper-Scooper

I will swap out my single use plastic bags for a pooper-scooper.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Plant a Garden

I will plant an herb or vegetable garden in my home, workplace, or community garden

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Lifestyle

Travel Smart

If traveling, I will bring my own plastic free items (water bottle, grocery bags, collapsible food containers, utensils, straws, etc.) with me.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Start Composting

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

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

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 27
DAILY ACTIONS

Personal Care

Lather Up

I will replace my soaps, shampoos, and conditions with either a bar or refillable option.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Create Your Own Action

Use what you have!

I want to set this goal to encourage myself to pause before purchasing consumable products while I'm out and ask myself if I really need this or can I utilize what I have/own already in another way to fill this need? This cuts down on paper waste, food waste, single-use plastic and more.

COMPLETED 14
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?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Watch a Documentary

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

Sarah Leach Smith 7/31/2019 11:52 AM

We watched 'A Plastic Tide' today and it was pretty mind-blowing to see the vast quantities of plastic in the ocean and washing up onto shore in countries around the world.The misconception that I myself have been guilty of is that the people living in those places are responsible for the trash; it was eye-opening to learn that is not the case! Thanks for getting it set up for us, Steve! I enjoyed the mini discussion that we all had afterward as well!

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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?

Sarah Leach Smith 7/29/2019 5:21 AM

I think about things like disposable razors and realize that I have watched my mom use them for years on vacations. A big part of why is the convenience factor. I know that a lot of choices that my mom made while I was growing up were out of ease and convenience; "razors are offered in a disposable format, that seems so easy, of course I'll get it - these were MADE for travel!" However, it's interesting to me how much that has shifted from her generation and lifestyle to mine; "I already have a razor, I'll just pack a refill and I'm good to go." It seems so clear to me. This has sparked some great conversations between us and definitely has caused mom to consider some different options!

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Sarah Leach Smith 7/26/2019 7:41 AM

I loved the radio call at Adult Summer Camp that a vendor had brought compostable cups for their samples and wanted to make sure they didn't get tossed in with the regular trash. Definitely a step in the right direction for museum event vendors! We have also purchased compostable tasting spoons for our liquid nitrogen ice cream demo at events. What ideas do others have for making our events more green??

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Sarah Leach Smith 7/17/2019 12:00 PM

I am LOVING the green activities we've been doing this month! The toothpaste workshop was great and making the bags today was really fun. Thanks to our team captains for the plastic-free tutorials :)

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Plant a Garden

Besides having access to fresh herbs and vegetables, what benefits will you see from growing your own garden?

Sarah Leach Smith 7/15/2019 6:00 AM

Growing my garden not only gives me access to fresh herbs and veggies, but the number of pollinators is astronomical! It's amazing to watch all of the bees, moths, butterflies and hummingbirds that are out there all day, every day!

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- Kaitlynn Fields 7/16/2019 5:36 AM
  
  Yes! It is also really rewarding to plant something, watch it grow, and then enjoy what it produces. It's all satisfying but in three different ways.
  
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Sarah Leach Smith 7/05/2019 6:10 AM

Lots of places just give you straws in your bag at the drive-thru. I don't use them, but now I have a bunch of wrapped, unused straws. Any ideas for re-using them or recycling them?

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- Sarah Leach Smith 7/08/2019 6:37 AM
  
  Thanks y'all, this is good info!!!
  
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- Rob Colquhoun 7/05/2019 9:36 AM
  
  Just looked it up and apparently most places don't recycle straws, BUT most are made out of type 5 plastic (polypropylene) if your county/the museum recycles type 5, you can put them in a larger container made out of polypropylene and recycle that with the straws inside. Not foolproof, but better than nothing I'd guess.
  
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- Adele Philippides 7/05/2019 6:18 AM
  
  Do you ever have the opportunity to do crafts with kids? For Girl Scouts, we did Morse code name bracelets. I had a hard time finding long and short beads (for dashes and dots) so made my own out of straws I had lying around for the girls to use. I think if you look on pinterest for crafts with straws a few things may come up.
  
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Sarah Leach Smith 7/02/2019 5:48 AM

Good! I participated last year and just doing this challenge once has raised my awareness tremendously. So far so good this year!

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