Vivian Beatrice

Saugerties Green Team

Points Total

0 Today
0 This Week
624 Total

Participant Impact

up to

13

zero-waste meals

consumed
up to

12

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
up to

12

pieces of plastic cutlery

not sent to the landfill
up to

3.0

pieces of litter

picked up
up to

5.0

minutes

spent learning

Vivian's Actions

Family

Swap the Snacks

I will swap out 1 prepackaged snacks a day for fresh fruits or veggies.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Lifestyle

Travel Toiletries

If traveling, I will reuse my old travel tubes to refill with my soaps or only bring bar soaps with me in a TSA approved reusable quart sized bag.

Completed
One-Time Action

Food

Cook a Zero-Plastic Waste Meal

I will prepare 1 meal(s) at home each day without using any items packaged in single-use plastic.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Use Reusable Utensils

I will keep 1 plastic cutlery out of the landfill per day by using my own reusable cutlery.

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Keep My Community Clean

I will pick up 1 piece(s) of litter each day.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Use Reusables at Work

I will use reusable dishes and silverware when eating at work.

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Create Your Own Action

Learn to make our own beeswax wraps as an alternative to using plastic

Community Event: A group of us from the Saugerties Green Team will learn how to make our own beeswax wraps as an alternative to using plastic. We will then host an event to shows other folks how to do it for themselves and others. We had one trial run so far and need to tweak the recipe we found online as the wraps were not clinging enough to do the job they need to do... to create a good seal on food. Looking forward to creating our own 'plastic alternative'!

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Feed

Vivian Beatrice 7/18/2019 7:24 AM

Here are a couple of us from the Saugerties Green Team experimenting
with making beeswax wraps as an alternative to plastic.
Sorry to say we could not come up with a
good recipe using the 3 ingredients: beeswax, pine rosin and jojoba oil,
to satisfy our need for clinginess and texture.

HELP!!
Does reading this feed anyone have a recipe that works?

Read More
- Kristen Mankowski 7/25/2019 8:13 AM
  
  I should have spell checked that better.
  
  *keep the mixture very liquidy
  
  *We used the oven and iron technique
  
  Read More
- Kristen Mankowski 7/25/2019 8:11 AM
  
  Hey! I saw your comment about the beeswax wraps and I wanted to share the recipe that worked at my workshop. We used 2 parts beeswax to 1 part pine resin (Or white copal, and make sure you grind it into as fine a powder as possible!) with about 1 tablespoon of jojoba oil per 2 cups of mixture. We mixed the beeswax and oil first, heating them up in the microwave, then slowly stir in the powdered resin, reheating the mixture as needed to keep it very liquify and smooth. It is fine if some of the resin clumps, but blending slowly helps. We used the over and iron technique, and I like the oven best, but the iron is more practical for some.
  
  For your wraps that didn’t make it, just use twine or rubber bands to hold them in place or you can sprinkle powdered resin lightly and evenly across the already made wraps, and use the iron technique to disperse it. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out! k.mankowski@hotmail.com
  
  Read More
Reflection Question
Food Use Reusables at Work

It is often true that we only have control over our own actions and not the collective community. How can you lead by example when it comes to switching disposables for reusable dishes in your community?

Vivian Beatrice 7/01/2019 5:58 AM

Q: It is often true that we only have control over our own actions and not the collective community. How can you lead by example when it comes to switching disposables for reusable dishes in your community?

A: When at work, those folks around me will see how I bring my food in reusable dishes. I find it's a matter of setting up a system that works so that it becomes habit and not a struggle. I carry a recycled apple bag in my car that always has the items I need and it's easy to carry between the house and car.

Read More
Vivian Beatrice 6/29/2019 5:37 AM

baby steps...

ALDI says all packaging will be reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025

https://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/aldi-says-all-packaging-including-plastics-will-be-reusable-recyclable-or-compostable-2025.html

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Vivian Beatrice 6/14/2019 4:14 AM

I hope this is the ‘future’, making a plastic alternative out of a renewable, biodegradable source.. in this case.. cactus!

We need to put an end to petroleum products.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-48497933/how-to-make-biodegradable-plastic-from-cactus-juice

Read More
- Susan J Murphy 7/29/2019 11:23 AM
  
  Let's see now: corn, hemp, cactus... what other fibers have been used to synthesize polymers that function like plastic?
  A nagging concern is: once these things have been converted to plastic polymers, do they have (all, many, most) of the problems of fossil-fuel-based plastics?
  
  Read More
Vivian Beatrice 6/11/2019 6:06 PM

Is this recyclable?

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- Vivian Beatrice 6/13/2019 8:28 AM
  
  Thanks for your responses Maggie and Jen,
  
  Here's a handy chart our Plastic Free group has found to be useful.
  It is a little shocking that #1 plastic, which is the crystal clear plastic bottles that
  Poland Spring water and our local health food stores use.. are NOT Reusable!!
  They are recyclable but not safe for reuse.
  
  I can't find any Recyclable label on the coconut sugar package!
  Wondering if it is required by law ?
  
  Read More
- Maggie Ostdahl 6/12/2019 7:49 AM
  
  What Jen said, and where in your community will accept soft plastic for recycling. https://earth911.com/ can be a good resource to find out.
  
  Read More
- Jen Joseph 6/12/2019 7:11 AM
  
  It depends on the type of plastic, should be a number somewhere on the packaging to tell you.
  
  Read More
Vivian Beatrice 6/04/2019 7:44 AM

Very excited to be learning how to reduce and refuse the plastic around us, with everyone here on the Saugerties Green Team.
I hope we can share ideas and learn from each other how to transform our plastic addictions into more sustainable lifestyles.
My hope is that we can show those around us that there are ways to live without consuming so much plastic.

Viewing the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is my inspiration that our lifestyles need to change.
We are each contributing to this horrible problem. Can we achieve zero-waste before it's too late?
It's a massive task and I am looking forward to putting our collective minds together.

Vivian

Read More

ALDI says all packaging will be reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025