Coalition of North American Zoos and Aquariums

Plastic Free Ecochallenge 2019

July 1 - July 31, 2019

Sinclair Boggs

Maryland Zoo

"High enthusiasm about low waste!"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
2,876 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

90

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

6.0

public officials or leaders

contacted
UP TO

27

pieces of litter

picked up
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

26

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

25

pieces of plastic cutlery

not sent to the landfill

Sinclair's 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

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

Personal Care

Fresh as a Daisy

I will use deodorant either from a bar or a jar or I will make my own.

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

Community

Keep My Community Clean

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

COMPLETED 9
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 26
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Share My Actions

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

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Write Letters or Emails

I will write 1 letter(s) or email(s) per day to a public official or company to advocate for planet-friendly policies.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Buy Unpackaged Produce

I will purchase produce items without plastic packaging.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Personal Care

Pearly Whites

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

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Use Reusable Utensils

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

COMPLETED 25
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
Food Buy Unpackaged Produce

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?

Sinclair Boggs 7/31/2019 3:43 PM

Unfortunately, I think consumers like packaging for convenience , perceived cleanliness, etc. The only good news is that if that’s true consumers can help change the tide to be plastic free!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Share My Actions

In what ways is social media an effective tool for sharing your values?

Sinclair Boggs 7/31/2019 3:39 PM

Social media is great for starting conversations that might never happen otherwise. It’s a perfect platform to use to lead by example.

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Sinclair Boggs 7/31/2019 3:37 PM

So sad to see the challenge end but so happy with the amazing impact we have been able to have - and will continue to have!

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Sinclair Boggs 7/28/2019 1:22 PM

Not only did I manage to get all of my produce without plastic, I bought plastic-free bread in my own bag too - they even sliced it for me!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Watch a Documentary

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

Sinclair Boggs 7/27/2019 7:40 AM

Mission Blue about the oceanographer Silvia Earle and her future for the ocean. Honestly,&5 was pretty depressing. Aside from plastic pollution, sea creatures face so many threats like oil spills, dead zones from industrial agriculture, overfishing and more :(. Sylvia’s goal to creat ocean reserves a la the National Parks of the IS is very noble but even more action is needed like what we are all doing here!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Keep My Community Clean

How does the act of picking up litter connect you more to your community?

Sinclair Boggs 7/26/2019 12:05 PM

Yes, it inspires me to get outside and walk around where I see other people and set an example by picking up trash everywhere I go. It starts conversations and gets people thinking about where our trash goes.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Travel Eating

Was this action easy or difficult to do? How did it change your travel experience?

Sinclair Boggs 7/25/2019 6:03 AM

Very easy! My flight was not long so I did not even end up needing to break into the snack I brought to help keep me from being tempted to accept the plastic-packaged peanuts offered on my flight. I had an empty water bottle and reusable mug in my carry on so getting water before the flight and buying a coffee after were all plastic free!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Travel Smart

How can/did you prepare to be successful in this action? Did you engage in conversation with anyone about your new habit?

Sinclair Boggs 7/25/2019 6:01 AM

Be prepared! That's the #1 thing I did to complete this action. It was as simple as checking to make sure I had my reusable cutlery and bags with me and always had a snack in my bag to stave off any temptation to buy a plastic-packaged snack.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Write Letters or Emails

How might thinking creatively help us address big systems problems - like plastic pollution - differently?

Sinclair Boggs 7/25/2019 5:58 AM

Creative thinking, especially by industry leaders, can set the tone for an entire type of business and create a ripple effect of problem solving. The biggest thing companies can do is to help reduce the amount of plastic being produced by creating new packaging for their products that's non-plastic, getting creative with shipping, merchandising, etc. and not relying on single-use plastic to accomplish those tasks. The less plastic we create the less there is to clean up.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Use Reusable Utensils

How can you be an advocate for using resusables instead of disposables for the rest of your community? Where are they currently dependent on disposable cutlery, and how can you convince them of the need for change?

Sinclair Boggs 7/21/2019 2:37 PM

Brining your own utensils ends up making your an advocate whether you like it our not because people notice! Plastic is often used for take out so one way to keep spreading the message is to always leave a “no plastic utensils please!” Note in the comments when ordering food and maybe even explain way.

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