Dorothy Brethauer

ABQ BioPark

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
340 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

20

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

142

pieces of litter

picked up
UP TO

5.0

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill

Dorothy's actions

Community

Keep My Community Clean

I will pick up 1 piece(s) of litter each day.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Estimate My Plastic Consumption

I will visit the rePurpose website, complete the 3-minute plastic consumption calculator, and explore how I can reBalance my annual plastic footprint.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Lifestyle

Buy Only What I Need

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

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Personal Care

Practice Sustainable Fashion

I will spend 15 minutes learning about the costs of fast fashion and begin trying to practice sustainable fashion in my own life.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Switch to Loose Leaf Tea

Because many tea bags and most sleeves and sachets contain plastic, I will switch to using loose leaf tea.

COMPLETED 5
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?

Dorothy Brethauer 7/29/2022 9:01 AM

I collected trash at my neighborhood park again - 75 pieces of plastic, and this is a reasonably well-maintained area. I will try to do this occasionally in the future.

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Dorothy Brethauer 7/26/2022 7:34 AM

I took a walk around my neighborhood park and picked up 55 pieces of plastic trash. The most common items were food and beverage containers, including water bottles. The next most common was packaging trash. One piece of plastic foam wrap can morph into dozens. Tips: go early in the day, bring a small trash bag, wear gloves!

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Dorothy Brethauer 7/20/2022 12:11 PM

How many pairs of sunglasses do I really need? I lost my favorite pair last week and have not yet replaced them. I may wait until August, so as not to buy unnecessary things during Plastic-Free July.

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Dorothy Brethauer 7/17/2022 1:32 PM

I went to the optometrist this week and ordered a new pair of lenses, to be installed in the same eyeglass frame. (I already had a spare pair. ) That saved a little plastic, since only the lenses would be discarded.

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Dorothy Brethauer 7/09/2022 11:44 AM

There was also a plastic fork! So that makes 6 plastic items.

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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?

Dorothy Brethauer 7/09/2022 11:34 AM

When I go hiking in the foothills I try to pick up one piece of litter - preferably something lightweight and reasonably clean. Today I picked up 6: 1 plastic water bottle (recycled it), 1 pastic bag, 2 beverage cups, 1 plastic liquor bottle, and a paper receipt. Had I not been doing the Plastics challenge, I wouldn't have picked up the last 4.

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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?

Dorothy Brethauer 7/06/2022 12:39 PM

Since the pandemic began, I have cut back on unnecessary purchases, but sometimes the difference between wants and needs is hard to determine. Last year I stopped as many clothing catalogs as possible, and I generally don't read promotional emails. I do buy new clothes occasionally. If I start wearing the item immediately, then it was a worthwhile purchase.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Switch to Loose Leaf Tea

Take time to reflect or meditate over your plastic-free cup of tea. Share your thoughts and reflections with us here!

Dorothy Brethauer 7/06/2022 12:32 PM

This was easy because I already had a ceramic mug/strainer/lid and a tin of loose-leaf tea. You just put the strainer in the mug, add a teaspoon of tea, pour boiling water over it, cover with the ceramic lid, and wait 5 minutes. I have a hot pot for heating the water, which is much faster than heating on the stove, and a bit faster than the microwave oven.

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