Gabriel Ochoa

NYPA

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
705 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

144

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

150

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

110

disposable cups

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

155

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

100

pieces of plastic cutlery

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

95

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill

Gabriel's 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 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Become a Recycling Pro

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 10 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Research Local Waste Sites

I will spend 15 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

Food

Skip Plastic Bags

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

COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS

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 21
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 25
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 26
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Use Reusables at Work

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

COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Use Reusable Utensils

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

COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS

Personal Care

See the Green

I will recycle used contact lenses and packaging.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Minimize Packaging

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

COMPLETED 21
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?

Gabriel Ochoa 7/31/2022 8:50 AM
I enjoyed this challenge so much, that I am committing to recruiting more people for the next challenge to boost our membership. With more members, we can increase our ranking. Let's break into the Top 10!

Read More
Gabriel Ochoa 7/31/2022 8:47 AM
I just checked the standings and noticed that we are in twelfth place with only 59 members. The teams ahead of us have many more team members, so we did very well with much less members. Good job Team NYPA!

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?
Gabriel Ochoa 7/30/2022 12:29 PM
Our town has a local resource recovery facility. Our household has chosen to haul our waste to the facility ourselves to ensure that it is appropriately segregated. Most items are recyclable, including yard waste, construction waste, scrap metal, and books. Those items that are not are considered trash, which is hauled by the town to a facility that burns it to make energy that energy powers homes. There are no landfills in Connecticut.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community

In what neighborhoods or areas of your region are landfills or other waste sites located? Which communities are most affected by these locations?
Gabriel Ochoa 7/30/2022 12:25 PM
In my town, we deliver our waste to the local resource recovery center. Since Connecticut closed all landfills many years ago, waste in Connecticut gets burned and is made into energy that powers homes
via the Wheelabrator waste-to-energy plant in Bridgeport, CT.
"The Wheelabrator Bridgeport waste-to-energy facility provides dependable, environmentally safe disposal of municipal solid waste for more than two dozen towns and cities in Connecticut, while generating clean, renewable electricity for sale to the local utility. The plant processes up to 2,250 tons per day of garbage. Wheelabrator Bridgeport has an electric generating capacity of 67,000 kilowatts; the equivalent of supplying the electrical needs of 83,000 Connecticut homes."

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

How difficult was this challenge for you? What made it easy or difficult?
Gabriel Ochoa 7/29/2022 8:00 AM
This challenge has been difficult since we have a plethora of plastic bags in the house. I have minimized my impact by reusing the plastic bags multiple times, but I still added to the waste stream eventually. During a previous challenge, I won a set of three nylon bags, but I have yet to use them. I need to find them so that I may begin using them.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

How can you think outside the box (or bag!) when it comes to disposables?
Gabriel Ochoa 7/29/2022 7:57 AM
I am going to ask that we not use disposables during our next team meal. If we do not have them available, we will be forced to use the plates that we have in our kitchen. Also, our department provided every member with wooden cutlery, so I am going to remind my colleagues that they should be using these instead of disposable cutlery.

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Gabriel Ochoa 7/28/2022 2:21 PM
I enjoy the plastic free challenge because it reminds me of how entrenched plastic is in my life. I also notice how many people are still using plastic bottles!

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Gabriel Ochoa 7/26/2022 10:55 AM
I still have to learn to remind wait staff not to put a straw in my beverages. About half will provide straws where they have removed the paper covering, except for the top portion, and insert the straw in the beverage. When will restaurants ask their patrons if they prefer a straw before serving them?

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Personal Care

Take a moment to estimate how many disposable daily contacts you may have used over the years. What would be your impact now of switching to a contact brand with a longer lifespan?
Gabriel Ochoa 7/26/2022 7:57 AM
I personally never used disposable daily contacts because I thought that was such a waste. I use contacts that have a lifespan of 2 weeks, but end up wearing them at least 4 weeks, if not longer. It is products like these that have unnecessarily added to our waste stream. Please do not use daily contacts.

Read More
- Lielle Berman 7/26/2022 12:37 PM
  Check this out!
  seen in another Ecochallenge post 👍
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

How can you be an advocate for using reusables instead of disposables for the rest of your community? Where are they currently dependent on disposable food packaging or eating utensils, and how can you convince them of the need for change?
Gabriel Ochoa 7/26/2022 7:19 AM
I model the behavior by bring my own utensils to any office meal. I recently obtained NYPA branded wooden utensils, which I carry in my backpack to use whenever I eat a meal outside of the office or home. Also, my department provided a wooden utensil set to everyone in Internal Audit, so we are on the right path. My next step will be to ask everyone why they are not using them since they have been provided for us. I will also ask our department administrator to eliminate disposable utensils from future office meals to promote the use of the wooden utensils.

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