Jaime Webster

National Aquarium

"Use less plastic"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
415 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

5.0

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

5.0

pieces of litter

picked up
UP TO

3.0

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill

Jaime's 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

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.

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 1
DAILY 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

Keep My Community Clean

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

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Share My Actions

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Minimize Packaging

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

COMPLETED 6
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?

Jaime Webster 7/23/2022 8:35 AM

The main thing everyone needs to remember is the reason this is plastic FREE July - only 9% of plastics EVER created have been "recycled". EVER created! Quotes because plastics cannot be recycled, only downcycled - plastic microparticles will NEVER completely go away. And the more plastic is downcycled, the more it leaches as the quality degrades. So while its great people are trying to 'recycle more', remember that its most important to reduce/refuse plastics, not recycle them. Cause it ain't happening. The most mind blowing part about this whole issue is how completely the majority of us were fooled by 'green-washing' - so many companies pushing recycling knowing that plastic recycling is not, nor ever was happening! I was an environmental major and even I was fooled into thinking recycling was the answer for WAY too long. The worst part is that while we can refuse single-use plastic, in reality we can never live plastic-free - SO many household items, cars, electronics, medical supplies, etc are now made from plastic that its unavoidable in today's lifestyle.
https://www.waste2wear.com/only-9-of-plastics-ever-produced-have-been-recycled/

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- Jaime Webster 7/25/2022 11:29 AM
  
  Patricia - that's fantastic to know! I'd be interested to know %s of plastic/metal/paper recycled and - if they are downcycling large amts of plastic, what items they're making out of it.
  
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- Patricia Jonas 7/24/2022 8:05 AM
  
  As an addendum - while the recycling rate in the US is about 9%, the rate in the European Union is about 40%, due to EPR (extended producer responsibility) which transfers the costs of recycling to the industry from municipalities and taxpayers. Oregon, Maine and more recently California have enacted versions of EPR. Canada began an EPR program last year.
  
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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?
Jaime Webster 7/23/2022 7:13 AM
Your Footprint (46.93 KG)
AMERICAN (84 KG) /EUROPEAN (53 KG)/ INDIAN (11 KG)
I was surprised to see how much less Europeans use. I initially only thought of western europe, but if you factor in eastern as well it makes more sense.
I mostly use less plastic because overall I buy way less material goods than most Americans, and the items I do use that are plastic are non-single use or don't have [convenient] alternative packaging. It is much easier to avoid using single-use plastics than it is to avoid everyday plastic items (from hairbrushes to toys to electronics & cars). I used to be able to avoid plastic more before 2020 by bringing reusable containers to meat & deli depts, takeout places. That is no longer allowed. Due to covid-related budget constraints we did switch back to some plastic - I used to buy Bite toothpaste bits in a glass jar, but have recently purchased regular crest tubes. I didn't have access to bulk bins for that covid time frame so had to once again buy grains, nuts, etc in bags. (Bulk is now available again). I feel like in the last 3 years we've taken 1 step forward and 3 steps back on our fight for plastic use reduction.
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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?

Jaime Webster 7/07/2022 4:36 AM

Many products are unnecessarily packaged in plastic, especially produce, Ears of corn, potatoes, etc come with their own natural "packaging". So many other products could easily be shipped in cardboard or alternative products. As long as plastic is the cheapest product and there are no bans/restrictions I feel that it will be a long time before we change these corporate plastic habits. Shopping at farmer's markets not only keeps it local, but also helps avoid the plastic - many items are sold loose or in the cardboard bins and you can BYO bag

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Jaime Webster 7/02/2022 7:50 AM

"Cook a plastic-free meal"
This one's easy for breakfast (egg in paper carton, avocado with skin packaging, fruit bought in reusable bag, Jones brand sausage in box with no plastic.) It's dinner this can get challenging for.... All meat is currently in styrofoam/plastic. Pre-pandemic they'd wrap it in butcher paper for me but the rules have tightened. Veggies are easy, most can be bought with reusable bag. Some brands of rice/pasta have no plastic (Far East is one), and luckily Sprouts and other stores are going back to actual bulk bins post-pandemic.
Lunches can easily be leftovers in reusable containers. I used to be able to purchase meat/cheese at my deli and have them put it in a reusable container sans plastic, but Covid put an end to that as well.
Sometimes I do need a quick microwave meal so I purchase Healthy Choice's Power Bowls - plant-based fiber bowls BUT a plastic film cover. Its the least amt of plastic I've found in the frozen meal section. Anyone know of others?

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Jaime Webster 7/01/2022 10:25 AM

Day 1! Actions are chosen and check in completed.

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