"Everyone knows the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. My eco-challenge motto adds a fourth R: Refuse! I refuse to let one-time use items destroy our planet."
POINTS TOTAL
0
TODAY
0
THIS WEEK
1,275
TOTAL
participant impact
UP TO
174
plastic bottles
not sent to the landfill
UP TO
64
plastic straws
not sent to the landfill
UP TO
90
minutes
spent learning
UP TO
1.0
documentary
watched
UP TO
60
plastic containers
not sent to the landfill
UP TO
93
pieces of plastic cutlery
not sent to the landfill
Taylor's actions
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
Community
Share My Actions
I will make my environmental actions visible by posting to my social media networks.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Food
Use Reusable Utensils
I will keep 3 plastic cutlery out of the landfill per day by using my own reusable cutlery.
COMPLETED 31
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
Food
Skip the Straw
I will keep 2 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill per day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.
COMPLETED 32
DAILY ACTIONS
Food
Use Reusable Water Bottles
I will use a reusable bottle and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 2 disposable plastic bottle(s) a day.
COMPLETED 30
DAILY ACTIONS
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
Family
Swap the Snacks
I will swap out 1 prepackaged snacks a day for fresh fruits or veggies.
COMPLETED 29
DAILY ACTIONS
Food
Use Reusable Containers
I will only use reusable containers instead of single-use plastic storage items (such as plastic wrap, single-use sandwich bags).
COMPLETED 31
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
Which documentary did you choose to watch? What did you learn?
I watched a documentary on YouTube called A Plastic Wave. I learned that people tend to believe things are often someone else's problem to fix, such as a man in the video that lives on a literal river of waste in India believes the government should take action to clean up the area. While I do agree that the government needs to take action, as citizens it is also our responsibility to notify the government when something like the plastic crisis needs their attention. I really liked this mural from the video because it speaks about plastic and waste, but can be applied to the way we should look at life in general.
My boyfriend is starting to get more into racing his car so I'm trying to come up with creative ways to stay hydrated and nourished while at events without racking up on plastic. This past weekend we brought fruit in my new produce bags, had our sandwich stuff in reusable containers and used ice from our freezer instead of buying it at the store. We also used fabric and reusable bags to carry our necessities in. Next steps: ditching single-use water bottles, maybe we can use mason jars or get more reusable bottles?
Saw a video this morning that mentioned the 5 Rs you can utilize before you recycle. Recycling processes require a lot of energy and actually may not be that efficient, seeing that many "recyclable" items actually never get recycled. One of the Rs is repair, which means you should try to fix a broken or damaged item before throwing it out and replacing it.
Giving up plastics is the point of this challenge, but can we also work on shutting off lights when we aren't using them, like in bathrooms? (May or may not be calling out Zoo staff) #sorrynotsorry
I was really excited to get my new shampoo bar before the challenge started but then ran into the issue of traveling with a potentially wet bar. I asked around to see what other people with bars do and then researched to find cheap options. I've also advocated for people to refill travel bottles instead of buying new ones from the store every trip they take.
I keep the cardboard box that mine came in and use that for traveling. I try to avoid using it right before I leave for a trip, and sometimes I'll keep a fragment of a different bar (they break as they wear down) and designate it as my "travel size" bar.
You can get a little tin box for your bar. I did Germany for three weeks with my bar in one and it did great.
Procter and Gamble also just came out with a line of plastic free swatches that can be used for mess free shampoo, conditioner, face wash, body wash etc. while on the go. They aren't out yet but are supposed to go on sale soon!
Using the links provided, investigate the bottling practices of water corporations. There have been many cases where the water rights of the local people have been violated or even completely disregarded when a corporation decides to bottle water from a particular water source. How can you advocate for those who have been harmed by this bottling process?
I recently read that Nestle drained a water source due to over-bottling for sale. I can advocate for communities who have lost water access by donating to organizations that do field work in those localities and by refusing to buy from the sources who are stealing necessities from the communities.
I see restaurants and even breweries serving drinks without straws or with paper straws, without patrons even asking. More and more environmentally conscious businesses are in operation now.
