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Natasha Page's avatar

Natasha Page

South Carolina Aquarium

""Peace is cool, peace is nice, peace is better than chicken and rice!" - Gir, Invader Zim"

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 1,038 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    102
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    29
    pieces of litter
    picked up
  • UP TO
    49
    pieces of plastic cutlery
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    2.0
    plastic bottles
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    34
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    30
    plastic straws
    not sent to the landfill

Natasha's actions

Family

Swap the Snacks

I will swap out 2 prepackaged snacks a day for fresh fruits or veggies.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY 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

Research Local Waste Sites

I will spend 10 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Personal Care

Green Beauty

When it's time to buy more, I will replace my beauty products with refillable, sustainable, and/or DIY options.

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

Cook a Plastic Free Meal

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

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Keep My Community Clean

I will pick up 3 piece(s) of litter each day.

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Minimize Packaging

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

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Skip Plastic Bags

When possible, I will not use disposable bags when shopping, including produce bags.

COMPLETED 14
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Host a Watch Party

I will host a watch party with friends and/or colleagues to watch and discuss a movie about plastics.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Become a Recycling Pro

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 10 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

COMPLETED 8
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

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

Lifestyle

Buy Only What I Need

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

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Family

Glass Bottle Baby

I will replace 2 plastic bottles with glass or stainless steel alternatives.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Use Reusable Utensils

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

COMPLETED 26
DAILY ACTIONS

Lifestyle

Practice Sustainable Fashion

I will spend 10 minutes learning about the costs of fast fashion and begin trying to practice sustainable fashion in my own life.

COMPLETED
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

Personal Care

Practice Sustainable Fashion

I will spend 10 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 26
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Go Strawless

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

COMPLETED 28
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?

  • 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?

    Natasha Page's avatar
    Natasha Page 7/24/2022 4:30 AM
    Spending less on random impulse purchases has made my overall spending decrease a loooot. My heath and safety purchases have increased, though so I'm not sure what's up with that.

    • Shelley Shrader's avatar
      Shelley Shrader 7/30/2022 7:19 AM
      Natasha this is great! Not only to reduce your waste but to also reduce your CO2 emissions! What new habits have you started during this challenge that you think you'll be able to continue after the ecochallenge is over?
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Minimize Packaging
    With the added mindfulness of reducing your packaging, what have you noticed about the amount and type of single use plastics used for packaging when you shop in the grocery store?

    Natasha Page's avatar
    Natasha Page 7/19/2022 10:15 AM
    I noticed that all my favorite snacks are in single use plastic packaging :( I've started eating cashews instead of chips as a snack, since they don't come in a single use plastic package, but it's hard.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Use Reusable Utensils
    How can you be an advocate for using reusables instead of disposables for the rest of your community? Where are they currently dependent on disposable food packaging or eating utensils, and how can you convince them of the need for change?

    Natasha Page's avatar
    Natasha Page 7/18/2022 5:33 AM
    My family uses a lot of disposable utensils to cut down on dish washing, but we have a dishwasher that everyone refuses to use. I want to try to get them to start using the dish washer instead of wasting a bunch of plastic forks and spoons.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Skip Plastic Bags
    How difficult was this challenge for you? What made it easy or difficult?

    Natasha Page's avatar
    Natasha Page 7/18/2022 5:32 AM
    This challenge was not too difficult because I already had reusable tote bags, the problem is that I just kept forgetting them all the time lol. I've started keeping them in the car permanently now.

    • Linda Rowe's avatar
      Linda Rowe 7/18/2022 5:02 PM
      I had the same problem when I started using my own bags.  A game changer was the type that folds up really small that I can carry in my purse or a backpack.  Now if I forget a shopping bag in my car, I still have one on me when I get to the check out line.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Cook a Plastic Free Meal
    Do an inventory of your kitchen to see how many single-use plastics you've used in the past. What are some resuable alternatives to these commonly used products? What would your impact be if you switched all the single-use products from your inventory to reusable?

    Natasha Page's avatar
    Natasha Page 7/17/2022 7:57 AM
    It's actually super hard to cook a plastic free meal. Even the meat I cook with comes in plastic wrapping :(
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Go Strawless
    Have you noticed a shift in your community as more messaging about reusable straws becomes mainstream? Cite some examples.

    Natasha Page's avatar
    Natasha Page 7/17/2022 7:56 AM
    A lot of people lately have been using metal/paper/bamboo straws. I'm glad the popularity of these types of straws makes them a more readily available alternative to plastic ones!

  • Natasha Page's avatar
    Natasha Page 7/04/2022 7:12 PM
    My town uses a "single stream processing facility" that pulls recyclables out without citizens needing to separate them, which sounds like fancy corporate talk for "we don't have recycling facilities here" because wouldn't the recyclables (cardboard especially) become contaminated and unrecyclable if mixed with raw garbage? Maybe I haven't educated myself enough. This is a daily action for a reason!

  • Natasha Page's avatar
    Natasha Page 7/04/2022 6:49 PM
    Did yall know that clothes (synthetic or not) often have formaldehyde in them???? Just learned this today, but apparently its to prevent mold during shipping and keep clothes wrinkle free. Its used pretty frequently (formaldehyde levels in clothing are not regulated in the US), despite literally being a human carcinogen. Isn't that crazy? Here's a link to some more info from the government accountability office: www.gao.gov/products/gao-10-875

    • Linda Rowe's avatar
      Linda Rowe 7/09/2022 4:12 PM
      Thanks for this! I had no idea that formaldehyde is used on our clothes...