Patti Brueggemann

Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens

"I can't do everything but I can do something. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
845 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

900

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

28

zero-waste meals

consumed
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched

Patti's actions

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 28
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Buy Unpackaged Produce

I will purchase produce items without plastic packaging.

COMPLETED 25
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Share My Actions

I will make my environmental actions visible by posting to my social media networks.

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

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 26
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Minimize Packaging

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

COMPLETED 25
DAILY ACTIONS

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 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Family

Discover Together

I will spend 30 minutes educating my family on the basics of living a reduced/no-plastic lifestyle.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

How do you feel about being more involved in the food preparation process? Joyful, overwhelmed, engaged, empowered? What are the benefits of choosing to process or produce your own food instead of buying it pre-processed?
Patti Brueggemann 7/30/2019 11:02 AM
I've learned to bake my own bread this month. It's very satisfying knowing that I can put together a few simple ingredients and end up with a great product. Contains on flour, salt, yeast and water. No crazy ingredients I can't pronounce and no plastic bag involved!

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Patti Brueggemann 7/05/2019 10:55 AM
I'm very frustrated after my shopping experience at my Publix . First I saw two people put bananas in a single use plastic produce bag. Bananas??? Really? But the real problem is manufacturers. I wanted to buy rice, dried beans, coffee and quinoa and they're all in plastic bags. Even spaghetti noodles come in a cardboard box with a plastic window. I know what spaghetti noodles look like why does the box need a window? I wanted to buy cornstarch which used to come in a cardboard box and now it's in a plastic container. I feel guilty because I bought a bag of corn chips. Do manufacturers feel any guilt? I'm going to try Lucky's Market in Oaklleaf they have bulk bins and you can bring your own container. For me it's about a 60 mile round trip but hopefully it will be worth it.
This photo is one example of unnecessary plastic packaging. The net surrounding these melons is plastic.

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Patti Brueggemann 7/03/2019 3:01 PM
I attempted to make a loaf of bread today. It come out flat and hard probably like the hardtack the soldiers ate during the Civil War. Needless to say I need to keep practicing.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

How has buying bulk impacted the quality of the food you receive? Why do you think Western society relies more on prepackaged foods rather than buying in bulk?
Patti Brueggemann 7/02/2019 3:28 PM
Buying bulk has made me more aware of what's in my food. For example I don't buy prepackaged foods such as Cajun Rice and Beans that is full of tons of sodium and all kinds of additives. Now I buy rice and I buy beans and make my own. For a lot of people prepackaged foods are quick and easy and you don't have to put any thought into it.

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Patti Brueggemann 7/02/2019 11:29 AM
I went shopping this morning to buy produce. I had to go to two stores to get what I needed. Publix had zucchini loose but no spinach. Rowes had loose spinach but the zucchini was not just wrapped in plastic it was on a plastic tray. The things on my list that I wasn't able to buy since they were wrapped in plastic were strawberries, blueberries, grapes, carrots and mushrooms. I also couldn't buy any frozen veggies or fruit because of course they come in plastic.

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Patti Brueggemann 7/01/2019 6:30 AM
I posted a photo on Instagram showing the plastic audit I did last month. My goal this month is to (hopefully) not have any plastic trash.
My plastic audit for a month

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community

In what ways is social media an effective tool for sharing your values?
Patti Brueggemann 7/01/2019 4:52 AM
Social media is a way to get information out to a large number of people at one time.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Do an inventory of your kitchen to see how many single-use plastics you've used in the past. What are some resuable alternatives to these commonly used products? What would your impact be if you switched all the single-use products from your inventory to reusable?
Patti Brueggemann 7/01/2019 4:51 AM
Most of what I buy in plastic are things like rice or dried beans. I need to go to Whole Foods or some other store that has bulk foods and purchase these items. Bread is another food that comes in plastic. I'm going to try and bake a loaf of bread. Just cutting out these few products that come in plastic would keep 4 or 5 plastic bags out of the landfill.

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- Patti Brueggemann 7/01/2019 7:42 AM
  I don't go very often because it's so far for me however the last three times I did go I used gallon size zip lock bags (which I reuse each time) to get things like oatmeal and nuts. Not the best solution. You can probably use cloth bags for bulk things. I know that don't allow glass containers because they don't have or don't want to do the tare weight. Lucky's Market in Neptune beach does allow you to bring you own containers and they'll weigh them. That's even further away for me.
  
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- Jessica Fowler 7/01/2019 6:46 AM
  Do you happen to know if Whole Foods is allowing reusable containers from home for the bulk section? They used to allow it, but the last couple times I went they said no. :( Hoping they have gone back to allowing it.
  
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Patti Brueggemann 6/30/2019 5:31 PM
I've challenged myself to prepare my meals at home plastic free. I'm a little worried about pulling this off since there are no places to purchase bulk foods like rice or oatmeal on my side of town. I'll have to make a trip over the bridge to Whole Foods or Lucky's or I'll have to make do with the store near me. I'm up for the challenge though! It will be a learning experience.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

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?
Patti Brueggemann 6/30/2019 5:27 PM
I think the plastic packaging on produce is meant to give the consumer a false sense of security. That somehow the food is clean or untouched. Unfortunately some people believe this. I stopped at the grocery store and picked up one tomato and carried it to the cash register. The cashier actually said to me did I really want her touching my tomato! Like she was going to put germs on it or something. I think we've become so clean and afraid of dirt and germs. I told her that her touching my tomato was the least of my worries.

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