Michelle Pelton

"The main goal of personal environmental responsibility has to be the end of avarice. It's consumerism that drives our most destructive personal anti-green impulses. Embrace living more simply, so others may simply live. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
547 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

40

pieces of litter

picked up
UP TO

9.0

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

46

pieces of plastic cutlery

not sent to the landfill

Michelle's actions

Food

Use Reusable Utensils

I will keep 2 plastic cutlery out of the landfill per day by using my own reusable cutlery.

COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Keep My Community Clean

I will pick up 2 piece(s) of litter each day.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Use Reusables at Work

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

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Lifestyle

Homemade Cleaners

I will make my own cleaning products at home.

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?

Michelle Pelton 7/31/2019 6:51 AM
At the end of the month, I am amazed at all the plastic that enters my life when I am least accounting for it. I'm going to continue to remain aware so I can make better choices.

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Michelle Pelton 7/26/2019 11:12 AM
I didn't expect lunch so I didn't have a plate, but I did use my silverware instead of plastic at the All Hands meeting!

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Michelle Pelton 7/18/2019 4:50 AM
I just found out about a company that makes fabric (or possibly clothing) partially from "thread" spun from recycled water bottles. I think it's called ReTHINK but I'm having difficulty locating any information about it.
Check out the picture - does anyone know more about them?

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- Michelle Pelton 7/23/2019 7:18 AM
  It's great to wear only natural fibers, but most of us can't avoid at least some polyester, polar fleece, acrylics, or even nylon, which means we're already wearing plastic.
  I love my Rothys, too - almost all recycled water bottle.
  (I did find out the RETH?NK company is out of business, alas.)
  
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- Lisset Avery 7/23/2019 6:57 AM
  I admire the innovating thinking here. The only caution against plastic-based products is that if we wouldn't want plastic leaching into our personal products or food, not sure that we would want to put them against our skin either.
  
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Michelle Pelton 7/15/2019 12:22 PM
Wow, Parade day yesterday left a lot of opportunity to pick up trash around my neighborhood. :-/

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Michelle Pelton 7/03/2019 2:46 PM
Does anybody have a great use for old prescription bottles? They're impossible to recycle.
I've used them to mix paint, to try to keep a week's prescription in the car in case of emergencies, to store beads and game pieces, and a few other things.
What are your ideas?
How may of THOSE can we keep out of a landfill?

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

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?
Michelle Pelton 7/01/2019 12:49 PM
Does this count if you're eating at home or only if you're eating at home with takeout?

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- Michelle Pelton 7/02/2019 6:49 AM
  By "this" I mean can I count using my regular dishes when I am dining at home, or is this for when we're dining out or getting take out? I'll claim the points daily but I'm not a cheater. :)
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

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?
Michelle Pelton 7/01/2019 11:32 AM
My main block is the transportation of it - It's going to be rather unglamorous, carrying silverware in my fist to the lunchroom and back, and unhygienic to toss them in my purse. So is the solution to use a single use bag to carry them?

I'll clean a couple of old makeup bags, the kind they give out at every counter, and use for clean and "to be cleaned." I could use old eyeglass cases too I suppose.

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Michelle Pelton 7/01/2019 11:10 AM
Another suggestion – when you’re talking about reusable cutlery or reusable bags (for example) as a means to cut plastic waste, bring what you already have from home. Ordering or buying new goods means they could be shipped for miles (plastics are petrochemicals) and wrapped in plastic themselves.
The eco container industry, for the most part, is not green. You can make no-sew grocery bags from tee shirts that have outlived their first lives, and it's a great way to get kids involved. Check YouTube!

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Michelle Pelton 6/27/2019 8:00 AM
I would like to encourage everybody to join your local Freecycle.org and TrashNothing.com because it's a win-win! You can offer or request useable items from your local community. It gives the items new life, keeps them out of the landfill, and saves you from dropping those items at the local thrift store (especially helpful if it's furniture you want gone!).

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Michelle Pelton 6/27/2019 7:12 AM
For another do-your-own challenge, I commit to buying only second-hand durable household items in July. If I can't find it second-hand and keep something from a landfill, I don't need it.

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