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Carol Armstrong's avatar

Carol Armstrong

L.A. Zoo - Angeleno Plastic Eliminators (APE)

"Let me be free - keep plastic from the sea. Anonymous Narwhal"

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 2,925 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    23
    advocacy actions
    completed
  • UP TO
    37
    conversations
    with people
  • UP TO
    70
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    160
    pieces of litter
    picked up
  • UP TO
    170
    pieces of plastic cutlery
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    3.0
    plastic bottles
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    87
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    29
    public officials or leaders
    contacted

Carol's actions

Family

Discover Together

I will spend 20 minutes educating my family on the basics of living a reduced/no-plastic lifestyle.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Family

Natural Paints

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Family

Glass Bottle Baby

I will replace 3 plastic bottles with glass or stainless steel alternatives.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Learn about Plastic Production

Plastic production, not just disposal, pollutes communities and harms people. I will learn about the impacts of plastic production on humans, animals, communities, and the environment.

COMPLETED
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

Keep My Community Clean

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

COMPLETED 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Dig into Bioplastics

I will spend at least 20 minutes researching the impacts of bioplastics and how to properly dispose of them in my city, and I will share this information with 5 friends, family, and/or colleagues.

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 29
DAILY ACTIONS

Personal Care

Practice Sustainable Fashion

I will spend 30 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

Green Beauty

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Personal Care

Pearly Whites

I will switch to a plastic-free toothpaste — whether purchased or DIY'd.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Personal Care

Eco Deodorant

I will switch to a plastic-free deodorant — whether purchased or DIY'd.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Personal Care

Brush with Bamboo

I will replace my plastic toothbrush with a bamboo toothbrush.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Use Reusables at Work

I will use reusable dishes and silverware when eating at work.

COMPLETED 29
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Better Gum

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

COMPLETED 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Minimize Packaging

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

COMPLETED 30
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Advocate For Better Food Packaging

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Research Local Waste Sites

I will spend 60 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Say No to Styrofoam

Throughout its life cycle, polystyrene (styrofoam) can harm people, communities, and the planet. I will refuse styrofoam whenever I can, making sure to kindly let people know why I'm asking for alternative packaging.

COMPLETED 30
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Give Some Green Gratitude

I will give a shout-out on social media to a local company, coworker, friend or family member for their plastic free or green efforts.

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 31
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

Food

Use Reusable Utensils

I will keep 4 plastic cutlery out of the landfill per day by using my own reusable cutlery.

COMPLETED 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Advocate for Office Reusables

I will lobby my workplace to have reusable dishes and silverware in order to minimize disposables.

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 31
DAILY ACTIONS

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 31
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?


  • Carol Armstrong's avatar
    Carol Armstrong 7/30/2022 1:41 PM
    One way that I've upcycled is by not throwing away a wooden outdoor dining table that had a rotten foot - instead, I sawed off all four legs to turn it into a coffee table and added metal pieces at the bottom to make sure that the wooden feet don't touch the ground and won't be in danger of rotting when and if it ever rains again. In this way, I avoided plastic by not purchasing something new and not generating any new plastic in a new product, its packaging and the process of getting it to me.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Lifestyle Clean Plate Club
    How easy was this swap for you? Did you have any concerns before making it?

    Carol Armstrong's avatar
    Carol Armstrong 7/27/2022 12:08 PM
    It wasn't so tough and it becomes second nature after a while.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Family Natural Paints
    How do environmental health, community health, and your family's health intersect?

    Carol Armstrong's avatar
    Carol Armstrong 7/26/2022 1:26 PM
    They intersect in many ways, but a key example related to plastic is drinking water - microplastics in particular are pervasive in our waterways and so are the chemicals from plastic manufacturing, which means they end up in our drinking water. Once something is in the water, it is hard to avoid having it impact individuals, families and communities (e.g., Flint, Michigan). 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Family Discover Together
    What concerns you the most about how we are affecting the planet? Consider both local and global actions.

    Carol Armstrong's avatar
    Carol Armstrong 7/26/2022 1:20 PM
    Consumerist culture - all kinds of celebrities say they care about the planet, but then jet all over the place and buy into the fast-fashion industry (e.g., pro athletes pushing their expensive branded gear and shoes in poor communities) - corporations keep pushing the latest technologies and fads on us (e.g., from cell phones and solar panels to yerba mate beverages) when the actions they take in sourcing the inputs continues to damage wildlife habitat worldwide and they have very little thought for how or if the impacted materials will ever be reused/repurposed or recycled or how their disposal harms communities.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Lifestyle Travel Eating
    Was this action easy or difficult to do? How did it change your travel experience?

    Carol Armstrong's avatar
    Carol Armstrong 7/26/2022 1:08 PM
    It was not easy, but not too difficult - it definitely influenced my decision about what I ate and when (e.g., certain things only keep so long in travel containers and only certain things are available in non-plastic packaging). I will definitely prep. more thoroughly next time.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Advocate For Better Food Packaging
    Single use plastics have become normalized in our society to the point that most people don't see them as a problem. What would you say to a friend, colleague, or family member who may not understand why these disposables are an issue?

    Carol Armstrong's avatar
    Carol Armstrong 7/25/2022 2:57 PM
    I will continue to speak with my family, friends and colleagues about the importance of eliminating single-use plastics because of their impact on human health (see, e.g., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7068600/) and ask them to be ever vigilant as we have emerging problems that policies/regulations cannot yet address effectively such as PFAS in drinking water that results from a variety of actions including plastics manufacturing (see, e.g., https://www.ehn.org/what-are-pfas-2656619391/what-does-pfas-stand-for). Stay strong and smart, people!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Lifestyle Natural Fibers
    What are the benefits (to people, animals, and the environment) of purchasing clothes made with natural fibers?

    Carol Armstrong's avatar
    Carol Armstrong 7/22/2022 10:56 AM
    Some of the benefits of purchasing clothing made with natural fibers are that they are created without toxins, don't involve unnatural processes, and are biodegradable.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Advocate for Office Reusables
    What are some of the cases you could make to an employer for why switching to durable dishes and utensils is actually in their best interest as well?

    Carol Armstrong's avatar
    Carol Armstrong 7/20/2022 4:51 PM
    The life cycle cost of disposable dishes and utensils is much greater than reusing durable ones in terms of sourcing the ongoing product inputs, and the water, energy, equipment, and labor costs in the manufacturing, packaging, distribution, disposal, and degradation processes not to mention the associated marketing, development, and management processes. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Personal Care Sustainable Suds
    What are the economic and personal benefits of switching to bar soap/shampoo/conditioner or refillable bottle options?

    Carol Armstrong's avatar
    Carol Armstrong 7/18/2022 3:43 PM
    I've been trying the fermented rice bar shampoo with no conditioner and it's working! I realize that I don't need all of the other ingredients to get the job done - sparkly hair, no fuss and no plastic.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Personal Care Eco Deodorant
    Do some research on the toxic side affects of aluminum deodorant. After reading the side effects, can you think of instances where you may have experienced the side effects from this form of deodorant?

    Carol Armstrong's avatar
    Carol Armstrong 7/17/2022 11:25 AM
    Yikes! There are some scary side effects of using aluminum deodorant. I have been using aluminum free deodorant for a while and am not sure if I would have experienced symptoms from the aluminum-based ones in the past (e.g., I got hives, but I'm not sure if it was due to that). In any case, I also searched on plastic-free deodorants and found this link so I'm going to try some of those next: https://lowimpactlove.com/best-plastic-free-deodorant/