Coalition of North American Zoos and Aquariums

Plastic Free Ecochallenge 2019

July 1 - July 31, 2019

Linda Vislocky

National Aquarium

"Interested in growing my awareness of everyday plastic use and how to minimize it."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
845 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

120

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

27

pieces of plastic cutlery

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

22

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

26

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

1.0

waste audit

conducted

Linda's actions

Food

Skip the Straw

I will keep 1 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill per day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

COMPLETED 26
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Use Reusable Utensils

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

COMPLETED 27
DAILY ACTIONS

Lifestyle

Buy Only What I Need

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

COMPLETED 24
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

Food

Buy Unpackaged Produce

I will purchase produce items without plastic packaging.

COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Use Reusable Bags

I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases, including produce bags.

COMPLETED 22
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

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

Natural Fibers

When available, I will purchase clothing made with natural fibers, such as cotton, linen, or wool, rather than synthetic fibers.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Visit A Waste Management Facility

I will visit a local dump/transfer station, material recovery facility, and/or landfill to learn about the waste stream.

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
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?

Linda Vislocky 7/19/2019 10:43 AM

I have a reusable set of utensils that I use as much as possible and when I do use them in the company of others, they always ask about them, so I just pass on the sustainability aspect of them. I think most people are depend on them for take out food and think this can be easily remedied by carrying your own reusable utensils.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Natural Fibers

What are the benefits (to people, animals, and the environment) of purchasing clothes made with natural fibers?

Linda Vislocky 7/19/2019 10:32 AM

Natural fiber clothing should be sustainable whereas synthetic clothing is derived from a chemical fabrication process which likely results in toxic waste which is not environmentally friendly. I would think the odor than often comes with synthetic clothes is somewhat hazardous.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Buy Only What I Need

As you have reduced your spending, what have you noticed about your 'health and safety' purchasing habits? How might this change your longer term purchasing decisions?

Linda Vislocky 7/19/2019 5:49 AM

I've noticed I have less items for recycle and trash....and I'm saving money focusing on necessities. Hopefully I will keep up this habit in the future.

Read More
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?

Linda Vislocky 7/08/2019 3:55 AM

I think produce products amass plastic packaging because of convenience and some necessity. For larger quantities particularly of smaller items, it's convenient to use a handy bag or have the items come packaged. The plastic packaging serves the consumer, producer and distributor.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Skip the Straw

Have you noticed a shift in your community as more messaging about reusable straws becomes mainstream? Cite some examples.

Linda Vislocky 7/08/2019 3:51 AM

I've notice a shift in my work community with reduction or elimination of one time use straws for reusable.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Use Reusable Bags

How difficult was this challenge for you? What made it easy or difficult?

Linda Vislocky 7/08/2019 3:50 AM

This wasn't a difficult challenge and it's easy to use reusable bags.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Travel Eating

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

Linda Vislocky 7/08/2019 3:49 AM

This was an easy action to do. It didn't have any significant effect on my travel experieince.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Travel Toiletries

What is the benefit of using bar soaps or refilling your travel sized containers? Is this an action you think you will keep in your life?

Linda Vislocky 7/08/2019 3:47 AM

I actually like the convenience and lesser weight of traveling with bar soap and refilled travel sized containers. This is something I prefer doing and will likely continue to doso.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Lifestyle Complete a Waste Audit

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

Linda Vislocky 7/03/2019 4:17 AM

I recycle all items that are recyclable: plastic juice bottles, magazines, old mail, glass bottles. I do not compost. My landfill waste appears pretty minimal to me based on how much rubbish my neighbors place out for weekly collection. I would guess that would be because I try to minimize purchase of items in disposable containers.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Visit A Waste Management Facility

Landfills and recycling centers tell us a lot about our communities and purchasing habits. What did you glean from your visit?

Linda Vislocky 7/01/2019 6:04 AM

I visited the Honeygo Run Reclamation Center which only takes construction waste. I learned how they operate the facility and about environmental concerns that would result from poor operations. I was particularly surprised that drywall gives off hydrogen sulfide gas.

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