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Jacquie Kostoff(L&E)'s avatar

Jacquie Kostoff(L&E)

Toronto Zoo

"Reducing my plastic consumption, one action at a time"

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 1,005 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    80
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    100
    pieces of litter
    picked up
  • UP TO
    54
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill

Jacquie's actions

Family

Get Rid of Glitter

I will teach my little ones about microplastics while we do a craft project together using glitter alternatives.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Family

Discover Together

I will spend 15 minutes educating my family on the basics of living a reduced/no-plastic lifestyle.

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Lifestyle

Clean Plate Club

When I need to replace my dish soap, I will switch to a bar or refillable option.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Join a Cleanup Effort

I will host or participate in a beach, highway, river, or other cleanup effort in my community that follows the CDC’s current guidelines for prevention of disease transfer.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Community

Share My Actions

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Write Letters, Emails or Sign Petitions

I will write or sign 1 letters, emails or petitions per day to advocate for plastic-free or planet-friendly policies.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Become a Recycling Pro

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 15 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

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

Personal Care

Say No to "Flushable Wipes"

Wipes don't break down in sewer systems, but combine with fat to create massive clogs. I will find alternatives to using disposable wipes.

COMPLETED 11
DAILY ACTIONS

Personal Care

Brush with Bamboo

I will replace my plastic toothbrush with a bamboo toothbrush.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Better Gum

I will give up gum or choose gum made from chicle or other plastic-free gum bases.

COMPLETED 16
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Minimize Packaging

I will purchase food items with the least amount of packaging.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Advocate For Better Food Packaging

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

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Cook a Plastic Free Meal

I will prepare meals at home each day without using any items packaged in single-use plastic.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Lifestyle

Reusable bags

Use reusable bags when shopping.

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Lifestyle

Travel Eating

If traveling, I will bring my own snacks and meals in my own containers to avoid the waste of take-out containers.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Lifestyle

Homemade Cleaners

I will make my own cleaning products at home.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Keep My Community Clean

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

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Family

Swap the Snacks

I will swap out 1 prepackaged snacks a day for fresh fruits or veggies.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Family

Natural Paints

I will paint rooms in my home with low/no VOC or natural paints.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Plant a Garden

I will plant a herb or vegetable garden using as little plastic as possible and to save from the plastic used buying herbs and veggies.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Choose Reusable Food Storage

I will only use reusable containers instead of single-use plastic storage items (such as plastic wrap, single-use sandwich bags).

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Personal Care

Sustainable Suds

I will replace my soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and lotions with a sustainable, unpackaged, or refillable option.

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
    Family Discover Together
    What concerns you the most about how we are affecting the planet? Consider both local and global actions.

    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E)'s avatar
    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E) 7/28/2022 5:54 AM
    My concerns on a local level is that we are teaching our children that garbage just disappears, when it goes to the curb.  We don't teach them about what it does to our environment, or global atmosphere as a result, and the long lasting implications of pollution in relation to our health and all life on earth.

  • Jacquie Kostoff(L&E)'s avatar
    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E) 7/27/2022 7:13 AM
    Thanks every one for participating!! We are doing awesome and are making a big difference together.. lets continue to check in daily and make a point of challenging yourself each day to tackle something new if you can..
    We are in 31st place overall, not bad considering we only have 55 members, but wouldn't it be amazing if we made it to top 30?     We can do it people!! (This also means we would be on the 1st page of the challenge!)
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Lifestyle Clean Plate Club
    How easy was this swap for you? Did you have any concerns before making it?

    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E)'s avatar
    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E) 7/27/2022 7:06 AM
    This was easy to implement for me, especially at work, seeing how we have dishes and cutlery in our kitchen :)

  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Community Estimate My Plastic Consumption
    What did you find out about your plastic consumption by using the calculator? What did or didn't surprise you?

    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E)'s avatar
    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E) 7/26/2022 5:52 AM
    I realized that my plastic consumption is lower than the average americans by about 30% but above the standard Europeans average by about 20%..  I also discovered my next steps that I plan to implement in my home and at work.. to make sure that my snack wrappers get recycled properly, as they are one of my largest daily plastic uses I think!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Community Keep My Community Clean
    How does the act of picking up litter connect you more to your community?

    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E)'s avatar
    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E) 7/26/2022 5:32 AM
    Picking up litter makes me feel good about my actions, and set a clear examples for anyone observing me.  If everyone took a little more responsibility for their actions, the world would be a much better place! 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Community Share My Actions
    Have you noticed a difference in how your community, friends, and family members use plastics since you've shared your own actions?

    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E)'s avatar
    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E) 7/21/2022 6:11 AM
    Since starting this journey a few years ago, I have found some friends very keen to learn about what plastic free alternatives I am using and if they are any good, especially when it comes to TruEarth!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Personal Care Say No to "Flushable Wipes"
    Even though they are marketed as "flushable," disposable wipes do not disintegrate in water or the sewer system, and actually release microplastics into our waterways. How does it feel to learn this information? What do you want to do about it?

    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E)'s avatar
    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E) 7/21/2022 6:02 AM
    To be honest, I'm a bit angry that they are allowed to be advertised as flushable.  I think that I am going to post this to my social feed to make other people more aware, provide them with an alternative, and hopefully inform more people!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Personal Care Practice Sustainable Fashion
    How can you express your personality, creativity, and values in ways that don't require fast fashion or buying more clothes and accessories?

    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E)'s avatar
    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E) 7/19/2022 6:26 AM
    I express my personality and creativity through the work I do, the things I participate in and how I interact with people.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Lifestyle Travel Eating
    Was this action easy or difficult to do? How did it change your travel experience?

    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E)'s avatar
    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E) 7/19/2022 6:17 AM
    This was an easy switch for me.  I packed some fresh fruit to bring with me as well as a container to put any leftovers in from dinners if we went out!

  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Choose Reusable Food Storage
    How can you think outside the box (or bag!) when it comes to disposables?

    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E)'s avatar
    Jacquie Kostoff(L&E) 7/15/2022 6:48 AM
    Just say no to plastic bags!  It's so easy to store the little foldable ones in my purse and have a stash of bigger ones in the back of my car so that I essentially always have some on hand!