Coalition of North American Zoos and Aquariums

Plastic Free Ecochallenge 2022

July 1 - July 31, 2022

Amanda Johnson

National Aquarium

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
392 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

15

advocacy actions

completed
UP TO

18

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

17

conversations

with people
UP TO

75

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

5.0

pieces of litter

picked up
UP TO

12

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill

Amanda's actions

Community

Research Local Waste Sites

I will spend 30 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

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Go Strawless

I will keep 2 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill per day by refusing straws or using my own reusable straw.

COMPLETED 6
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 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Share My Actions

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

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

Dig into Bioplastics

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching the impacts of bioplastics and how to properly dispose of them in my city, and I will share this information with 3 friends, family, and/or colleagues.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Keep My Community Clean

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

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Minimize Packaging

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

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Become a Recycling Pro

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 30 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

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

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

Pets

Switch to BPI certified biodegradable pet waste bags

I want to stop using plastic bags for pet waste. I chose this because I learned the brand I was using is not a sustainable choice when researching bio-plastics.

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 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Cook a Plastic Free Meal

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

COMPLETED 0
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

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?

Amanda Johnson 7/13/2022 7:25 AM
I am having the hardest time making a "cooked" plastic free meal. I successfully made a salad (kind of a cop-out), but wanted more of a challenge. Even pasta boxes have that little plastic window. If anyone has recipes or tips I would love to hear them!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Community

What did you learn about bioplastic production and disposal? Did anything surprise you? Are bioplastics accepted by your city's waste management?
Amanda Johnson 7/06/2022 1:19 PM
This Plastic free July goal sent me down a rabbit hole of re-evaluating my supposed "eco-friendly" bioplastic pet waste bags I have been using. Turns out I was a victim of "Green-washing" and the product I was using was not actually compostable or even really sustainable. This sent me on a hunt for BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute) certified pet waste bag. Spoiler Alert there are not that many, but I did find a brand called "UNNI" that is exactly the product I have been looking for. Definitely check it out if you have any pet related plastic free July goals.
https://www.unni.world/compostable-poop-bags

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Community

What have you learned about what is accepted by local haulers for recycling, what you can drop off or ship to certain places, and what is not recyclable in your area? What is the most difficult part of recycling for you?
Amanda Johnson 7/03/2022 9:25 AM
I found the NPR video to be extremely eye opening on the history of recycling and its use in media to excuse both production and consumer behavior (https://youtu.be/iBGZtNJAt-M). By looking at Baltimore's recycling guidelines I learned that although many plastic bottles and jugs are accepted, plastic food containers from restaurants and grocery stores are not accepted. I have been guilty of doing a lot of "Wish-cycling" hoping that because it seemed recyclable it would be accepted. My goal is to be much more scrutinizing in the future with what I recycle.

Read More