Coalition of North American Zoos and Aquariums

Plastic Free Ecochallenge 2019

July 1 - July 31, 2019

Juliana Cantillo

Life Unplastic Gainesville

"Waste free, one day at a time. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,329 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

community event

hosted or attended
UP TO

2.0

conversations

with people
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

80

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

60

pieces of litter

picked up
UP TO

25

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

1.0

waste audit

conducted
UP TO

2.0

zero-waste meals

consumed

Juliana'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 2
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

Personal Care

Back in the Bowl

I will purchase refillable beauty products.

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

Buy Only What I Need

I will not buy anything except items required for health and safety.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Keep My Community Clean

I will pick up 3 piece(s) of litter each day.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Lifestyle

Support a Sharing Economy

I will create or support a sharing economy with family, friends, and neighbors.

COMPLETED 16
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

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

Lifestyle

Homemade Cleaners

I will make my own cleaning products at home.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Pets

Pet Waste

I will spend 30 minutes learning how to compost pet waste at home or research pet waste composting services available in my area.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Family

Discover Together

I will spend 45 minutes educating my family on the basics of living a reduced/no-plastic lifestyle.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Lifestyle

Naked Bins

I will either line my trash cans with repurposed newspaper or paper bags, or I will not line my trash cans at all.

COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Host a House Party

I will host a house party with friends and/or colleagues to watch a movie or present a guest speaker on plastics.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Personal Care

Pearly Whites

I will purchase toothpaste in an aluminum tube or in a glass jar or make my own!

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
Lifestyle Complete a Waste Audit

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

Juliana Cantillo 7/31/2019 8:59 PM

My last reflection question! This challenge helped me realize most of my waste comes from small non-recyclable plastics (such as fruit stickers, plastic clothes tags, etc) as well as paper-packaged food products that are unsuitable for recycling. When I'm not at the mercy of a mandatory school meal plan, I expect my food-related trash to decrease substantially, and in the meantime, I plan to start making eco-bricks for those plastics that can't be recycled.

Read More
Juliana Cantillo 7/31/2019 8:41 PM

Just want to say thank you to everyone who embarked on this plastic-free journey. I enjoyed learning from all of you and greatly appreciate having had the opportunity to connect with people who also share the same vision of a healthier tomorrow for our planet.

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Juliana Cantillo 7/30/2019 8:59 PM

Helping my friend move out of his place earlier today made me see the benefits of adopting a minimalist lifestyle. If you don't need something, you're doing yourself a favor by donating it.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Family Discover Together

What concerns you the most about how we are affecting the planet? Consider both local and global actions.

Juliana Cantillo 7/29/2019 3:05 PM

I'm most concerned about single-use culture and the false hope we put in recycling. To save the planet from irreversible environmental damage, we need to change consumerism-driven mindsets on a global scale and educate people to prioritize the other R's that come before recycling. This challenge is appropriately daunting, but I think it all starts with small groups of people in local communities advocating for progressive policies and committing to put their money where their mouths are.

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Juliana Cantillo 7/29/2019 2:52 PM

New initiative at my school to reduce food waste! Excited to see that students are already taking notice.

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- Juliana Cantillo 7/30/2019 10:35 AM
  
  I think it's something organized by the university - they just started composting all our leftover scraps so I assume they're trying to keep track of how much food is going into it.
  
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- Life Unplastic 7/30/2019 8:06 AM
  
  That’s so cool! Is there a certain company that does this or just someone clever at your school?
  
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Juliana Cantillo 7/28/2019 4:14 PM

Gotten into the habit of turning off individual lightbulbs when I realize it's brighter than necessary in a room. Yay for mood lighting - I'm liking the vibe so far.

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Juliana Cantillo 7/27/2019 8:34 PM

Listening to "Circle of Life" during The Lion King made me think of this challenge and how we're connected to everything on the planet even if we can't see the invisible strings holding us together. I'm happy to have made it this far and still more excited to keep this up after July.

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Juliana Cantillo 7/26/2019 7:27 PM

Today was a little rough but I'm grateful to #zerowastememes on Insta for providing comedic relief.

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Juliana Cantillo 7/25/2019 8:35 PM

Used a hole puncher to make confetti out of leaves for my friend's surprise party! 🎊Fun and surprisingly cathartic - def recommend making confetti if y'all ever start to feel stressed.

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Juliana Cantillo 7/24/2019 5:23 PM

Repurposed materials make for the best art - saw these critters at a craft show! 😍

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- Brooke Tate 7/24/2019 8:02 PM
  
  So cute!
  
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