Coalition of North American Zoos and Aquariums

Plastic Free Ecochallenge 2022

July 1 - July 31, 2022

Rose Bemo

Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden

"Improving my stewardship skills of the planet, one single-use plastic at a time."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,391 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

35

advocacy actions

completed
UP TO

151

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

40

conversations

with people
UP TO

60

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

42

disposable cups

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

54

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

75

pieces of plastic cutlery

not sent to the landfill

Rose's actions

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 30
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Fill a Water Bottle

I will use a reusable bottle and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 2 disposable plastic bottle(s) a day.

COMPLETED 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Use a Reusable Mug

If possible, I will avoid sending 1 disposable cup(s) to the landfill per day by using a reusable mug or bringing my own travel cup.

COMPLETED 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Use Reusable Utensils

I will keep 3 plastic cutlery out of the landfill per day by using my own reusable cutlery.

COMPLETED 29
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Use Reusables at Work

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

COMPLETED 30
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

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

Food

Skip Plastic Bags

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

COMPLETED 30
DAILY ACTIONS

Personal Care

Practice Sustainable Fashion

I will spend 20 minutes learning about the costs of fast fashion and begin trying to practice sustainable fashion in my own life.

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 29
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

Family

Discover Together

I will spend 30 minutes educating my family on the basics of living a reduced/no-plastic lifestyle.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Lifestyle

Buy Only What I Need

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

COMPLETED 30
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

Community

Share My Actions

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

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?

Rose Bemo 7/31/2022 5:15 AM
Another Plastic Free July in the books and I'm still learning ways to cut down on plastic use in my life. At next year's check in, I'll look forward to reporting about my new rain barrel and composting project - wish me luck! Congratulations to everyone who participated.

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Rose Bemo 7/31/2022 5:13 AM
Such a busy day at work, because it was less than 100 degrees - totally missed checking in. The good news is that over 5K enjoyed a lovely day at the zoo.

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Rose Bemo 7/29/2022 6:36 PM
I had what I call a cardinal sin lunch - plastic straw, plastic bag, styrofoam containers - please forgive me. Damn you Chicken Salad Chick & your irresistible watermelon tea & chocolate cake! 🤷🏻‍♀️

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Rose Bemo 7/28/2022 4:35 PM
Grabbed the reusable straw in my car to use with my drive-thru meal. If I’d known the lid wasn’t recyclable, I would have asked for it to be left off. Tips for myself, next time.

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Rose Bemo 7/27/2022 9:24 AM
"Microplastic particles are so pervasive in our food and water that the average person ingests a credit card’s worth of plastic (5g) every week."
WWF analysis titled "Plastic is Polluting: The air we breath, the water we drink and the food we eat"

This fills me with despair but inspires me to become move involved. This analysis was written in 2019, I wonder how much plastic is in my body right this minute? :(

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Personal Care

How can you express your personality, creativity, and values in ways that don't require fast fashion or buying more clothes and accessories?
Rose Bemo 7/27/2022 9:11 AM
The 3 Rs - Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose. I admit, I am NOT a 2nd hand store shopper, but I'd like to try a few places locally. I have a friend who made farmer's market produce bags out of old t-shirts, they were awesome! Textile recycling seems to becoming more popular lately, so instead of dumping old clothes in Goodwill stores, maybe we should learn more about the textile recycling industry. I've also heard of girlfriend groups that have shopping parties. They each bring clothes, shoes, and accessories they don't use anymore, so the friends can swap out these items for a new look and not spend a dime at the mall.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Family

What concerns you the most about how we are affecting the planet? Consider both local and global actions.
Rose Bemo 7/27/2022 9:02 AM
Educating our future generations and empowering them to make social change is the key. As consumers, we've taken for granted that the earth's bounty is infinite, but the lyrics from Joni Mitchell's song "They Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot" are 52 years old and even truer today. I want our youth to learn about this subject in schools, have a school-wide project each year to make a difference in their community - make this part of all 50 states' curriculum.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

It is often true that we only have control over our own actions and not the collective community. How can you lead by example when it comes to switching disposables for reusable dishes in your community?
Rose Bemo 7/27/2022 8:22 AM
Any time I find a cool reusable food storage item, I share the info with my co-workers. Gift giving at the holidays is fun and affordable too. Beeswax wraps, reusable straws, bamboo utensil sets - I'd love my Secret Santa to leave one of these in my stocking.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Using the links provided, investigate the bottling practices of water corporations. There have been many cases where the water rights of the local people have been violated or even completely disregarded when a corporation decides to bottle water from a particular water source. How can you advocate for those who have been harmed by this bottling process?
Rose Bemo 7/27/2022 8:18 AM
I'm enraged to read about corporations ravaging natural spring water resources! I'm actually enraged by people who rely on bottled water, when most of the world's population doesn't even have access to CLEAN water, much less bottled water. Here's my crazy plan that will never work because the US is full of privileged, greedy jerks - STOP producing bottled water, period. Instead of store coolers full of 25 brands and sizes of bottled water - sell ONLY reusable bottles with built in filtration systems. Then...the consumer can step to the chilled water dispenser next to the cooler and fill up their bottle. But no...that's plan is too simple and outrageous, right? How to advocate by those being harmed by this plundering practice? Find grass roots groups who lobby state and national governments to ban this practice. Educate your friends and family about using a reusable water bottle instead of contributing to the problem with their stupid consumerism.

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- Kelly Dillow 7/28/2022 7:29 AM
  I love the emphasis on pressuring policy! I always tell people bottled water is much less regulated than tap. I also like your idea of water dispensers near water bottle sells!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

How can you think outside the box (or bag!) when it comes to disposables?
Rose Bemo 7/27/2022 7:36 AM
Instead of plastic bags for sandwiches, I buy the Reynolds wax paper version. These are also super convenient to use when you share baked goods with friends and family, as they have little stickers that come with the bags. If you can't find them in a store near you, those and others like them are available on Amazon. Wax Paper Sandwich Bags | Reynolds Brands®

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