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Life Unplastic

Life Unplastic Gainesville

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 1,605 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    5.0
    conversations
    with people
  • UP TO
    1.0
    documentary
    watched
  • UP TO
    90
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    115
    pieces of litter
    picked up
  • UP TO
    24
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    5.0
    public officials or leaders
    contacted
  • UP TO
    1.0
    waste audit
    conducted

Life's actions

Food

Plant a Garden

I will plant an herb or vegetable garden in my home, workplace, or community garden

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Takeout Pro

I will use my own containers when ordering takeout.

COMPLETED 9
DAILY 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

Food

Advocate For More Food Packaging Options

I will advocate for alternatives to single use packaging at local grocery stores, markets, or work.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Personal Care

Tim Taylor Your Beauty Products

I will lessen my plastic impact by making my own makeup.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Lifestyle

Buy Only What I Need

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

COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Keep My Community Clean

I will pick up 5 piece(s) of litter each day.

COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS

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 5
DAILY ACTIONS

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

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 15
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?


  • Life Unplastic 's avatar
    Life Unplastic 7/31/2019 9:15 PM
    Hey Everyone!!

    Want to keep the momentum going? I created a group on Facebook, please join so we can keep sharing local tips and virtual high fives!

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/LifeUnplasticChallenge/

    Im sending out emails for to the top 5 with their prizes, but don’t forget all of you still have access to the store discounts all the way through this Sunday :D 


    Thank you all so much for being on this team with me and making it a memorable summer.  I hope to see you over in the Facebook group so we can keep the challenge alive!! 

    With gratitude, 
    Joy 


    • Krystal Nelson 's avatar
      Krystal Nelson 8/01/2019 7:17 AM
      Thanks for making a group - I'm excited to join!

      And thanks for letting me know about the Leaf razor - I've been eyeing it, so now there's no excuse to give a safety razor a try!

  • Life Unplastic 's avatar
    Life Unplastic 7/31/2019 3:34 PM
    I went to Vine today and they sliced my baguette so it would fit into my produce bag! (Couldn’t help but tear off a few pieces on my way home) 💚🥖

  • Life Unplastic 's avatar
    Life Unplastic 7/30/2019 1:18 PM
    There are only a few more days to go with this challenge, but we’re extending the store discount reward a few more days, through Sunday Aug 4) Just show us how many points you ended up with on your phone and claim your discount... maybe take a screen shot on the 31st, I’m not sure if the platform goes offline or what. 

    All Teammates – 5% off
    100+ points – 10% off
    500+ points – 15% off
    1000+ points – 20% off

    And thank you so much again for participating with me on this team, I had a blast!  And now for some zero waste humor.. 

  • Life Unplastic 's avatar
    Life Unplastic 7/30/2019 7:54 AM
    Something uplifting for the day! A comprehensive list of all the countries and cities around the world who are doing something about reducing the use of single use plastics in their communities. It’s so nice to see in the wake of all the drama Gainesville is experiencing trying to enact some change. And if you can, please email or call your city commissioners and state reps and let them know how you feel about single use plastic waste. 

    https://www.earthday.org/plasticban/



  • Life Unplastic 's avatar
    Life Unplastic 7/29/2019 8:55 PM
    Ecobricks can neutralize non recyclable plastics, bits of cellophane, packing tape and etc by keeping it out of the environment and preventing it from causing harm to wildlife.  And it’s amazing how much plastic you can pack down into a 2liter.  If you’re not sure what to do with your finished eco bricks, feel free to drop them off at Life Unplastic for a project, tbd! 

  • Life Unplastic 's avatar
    Life Unplastic 7/28/2019 10:04 AM
    Junkmail is so irritating.  In my ongoing quest to lessen it, I found this website today and wanted to share.  I've already opted out of one catalog and excited to do more and really hoping it works!!!  https://www.catalogchoice.org

  • Life Unplastic 's avatar
    Life Unplastic 7/26/2019 3:39 PM
    Happy Friday! 

    Just a few updates: 

    Friendly reminder that anyone on this team or another Gainesville team has earned discounts at Life Unplastic through the 31st.

    All Teammates – 5% off
    100+ points – 10% off
    500+ points – 15% off
    1000+ points – 20% off

    Also, the two winners of yesterday's challenge reward points giveaway for 1000+ points in 25 days (7/25) – unsponge, vegan dishblock, coir jar brush (2 winners) are Juan L and Laurel L!  Congrats, you two! 

    And now for that final points announcement for the end of the month.  It came to our attention that you can only pick 10 one-time challenges and after that, if you want to complete more one-time challenges, you have to unpick the ones you already completed and lose those points. !!  We did not know this caveat when we set all of this up (it's the first year we are doing this), and after a lot of thought we have determined that it is most fair for everyone to award the top FIVE people with $50 gift cards at the store (instead of one grand prize).  We hope this helps you feel better about completing as many challenges as you like without being penalized  or treated unfairly.

    Also, for the final product giveaway, for the Leaf Razor, we will pick one winner from the 1000+ points group (as of 7/30) because we are not sure how attainable 1500 points is if you are forced to lose points for wanting to take on additional challenges. 

    Thanks for being flexible and sticking with the challenges, everyone!  This has been a lot of fun for us and we hope for you too!   

    Joy 

    • Life Unplastic 's avatar
      Life Unplastic 7/28/2019 9:58 AM
      Hey Laurel!  Yeah, that will be fine! 

    • Laurel Levine's avatar
      Laurel Levine 7/26/2019 4:05 PM
      Hey Joy!

      Thanks for letting me know I won another thing! I'm heading back to Michigan this weekend and won't be able to pick this stuff up for about a month is this alright? This month has been a lot of fun and I appreciate the discounts and prizes you all have offered! 

  • Life Unplastic 's avatar
    Life Unplastic 7/24/2019 7:35 AM
    Hey all!  I almost forgot to share this from the City of Gainesville team - they have planned a clean-up for Saturday, it would be great if you could make it :) 

    "Hey there, Team City of Gainesville!

    Kristen and I are planning a clean-up day before the end of the EcoChallenge and would love for you to participate! Here are the details:

    WHEN:
    Saturday, July 27
    8:00-10:00 am
    Clean up of the Waldo Road Rail Trail (between University Ave. and NW 39th Ave.)

    WHERE:
    Meet at the Walmart Center, 1800 NE 12th Ave
    There is a parking lot area close to Waldo Road on the west side of the Walmart garden center – meet there by 8:00!
    Walmart has approved our use of the parking lot.

    BRING:
    Your reusable bottle of water (we will have water for refills), sunscreen
    And if you have them: work gloves, pick stick, 5-gal bucket

    WEAR:
    Work clothes and closed toe shoes

    HOW:
    Sign up at
    https://form.jotform.com/91906055981161 (or email Kristen and Kim) so we know how many people to expect. By 7/25, please!

    QUESTIONS:
    Contact Kristen at
    bryantk1@cityofgainesville.org or Kim at harriskd@cityofgainesville.org 


  • Life Unplastic 's avatar
    Life Unplastic 7/23/2019 5:18 PM

    • Kim Harris's avatar
      Kim Harris 7/24/2019 7:02 AM
      Hi Joy!  Just wanted to share with you that the City's team is hosting a clean-up of the Waldo Road Rail Trail on Saturday morning, 8:00-10:00am; all are welcome to participate and get a few more points!  We have approval to park at the Walmart center in the parking area that's closest to Waldo Rd.  If people sign up in advance (here: https://form.jotform.com/91906055981161 -- by Thursday night, please), we'll try to have enough pick sticks, buckets, and bags for trash and recycling.  Please wear closed-toe shoes and you'll probably want to wear jeans, and work boots for high brush if you have them.  Bring work gloves, pick-sticks or grabbers if you have them, and your reuseable bottle of water -- we'll have a dispenser for refills if you run out.  

      You guys are doing a fantastic job and really representing Gainesville well!  I'm so proud of all the involvement from our little city!

  • Life Unplastic 's avatar
    Life Unplastic 7/22/2019 1:50 PM


    These two recipe are working great for us so I thought I’d share. I  got the dial foaming soap container from a friend who has a surplus at her job (I can probably get a few more if anyone wants one) and the aluminum bottle is available at the store. 

    Foaming Lemongrass Castile Soap  
    2 tablespoons organic castile soap
    A couple drops of lemongrass essential oil
    1/2 teaspoon sweet almond oil
    12 oz of water
    *Add the water first and then the castile soap or it will foam.*
    *We repurposed this dial foaming soap dispenser to hold our DIY soap!*

    Lavender Spray
    2 Tablespoons rubbing alcohol
    20 drops of lavender essential oil
    ~4 oz of water


    • Brooke Tate's avatar
      Brooke Tate 7/22/2019 6:26 PM
      If you have an extra one of those foaming soap containers I'd love to try this recipe out!