Daniel Kessler

Maryland Zoo

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
945 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

30

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

64

pieces of plastic cutlery

not sent to the landfill

Daniel's 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 29
DAILY ACTIONS

Lifestyle

Buy Only What I Need

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

COMPLETED 28
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

Food

Use Reusable Utensils

I will keep 1 plastic cutlery out of the landfill per day by using my own reusable cutlery.

COMPLETED 30
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Personal Care

Sustainable Suds

I will replace my soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and lotions with a sustainable, unpackaged, or refillable option.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Family

Natural Paints

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Minimize Packaging

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

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 30
DAILY ACTIONS

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.

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.

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

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
Food

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?
Daniel Kessler 7/30/2022 9:01 AM
We are able to recycle most, if not all single use plastics in our kitchen. The local grocery stores collect most single use plastics. We collect them and drop them off in kitchen sized garbage bags, which they also accept.
We use very little seran wrap. We store nearly all our leftovers in reusable containers and recycle those that our stored in heavy duty freezer bags.
We also reuse bags that have stored non-odorous (such as onions).
We believe our impact has been very positive. We continually strive to reduce single use plastic and plastic in general.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

How can you think outside the box (or bag!) when it comes to disposables?
Daniel Kessler 7/30/2022 8:53 AM
There are multiple options available for storage containers that provide extra seal (gasketing) vs single use plastics. This allows foods to last longer, thus reducing waste and offset some of the increased cost of containers.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

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?
Daniel Kessler 7/30/2022 8:45 AM
I have noticed over the years that most stores have reduced some forms of single use plastics, or at least offered additional options. One additional option includes biodegradable vegetable/fruit bags. Although not perfect, as they might still mess up sorting processes at transfer stations, they at least won't be here as long as non-biodegradable bags.

Read More