Coalition of North American Zoos and Aquariums

Plastic Free Ecochallenge 2023

July 1 - July 31, 2023

Kathleen Quinlan

Zoo New England

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,046 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

2.0

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

62

pieces of plastic cutlery

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

1.0

advocacy action

completed
UP TO

31

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

2.0

conversations

with people
UP TO

250

pieces of litter

picked up
UP TO

64

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill

Kathleen's actions

Kitchen

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

Community

Keep My Community Clean

I will pick up 4 piece(s) of litter each day.

COMPLETED 27
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

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

Kitchen

Plastic Free Lunch Boxes

I will only pack reusable cutlery, drinkware and containers in my family's lunches to reduce plastic waste.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Clean Plate Club

When I need to replace my dish soap, I will switch to a bar or refillable option.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Kitchen

Minimize Packaging

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

COMPLETED 10
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Advocate for Plastic-Free Dining

I will talk to the owner or manager of a restaurant I frequent to request that they reduce their use of single-use and disposable plastics.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Kitchen

Skip Plastic Bags

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

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Glass Bottle Baby

I will replace 1 plastic bottles with glass or stainless steel alternatives.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Kitchen

Go Strawless

I will keep 1 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill per day by refusing straws or using my own reusable straw.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

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 15
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

Kitchen

Plant a Garden

I will plant an herb or vegetable garden using as little plastic as possible and to save from the plastic used buying herbs and veggies.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Kitchen

Swap the Snacks

I will swap out 1 prepackaged snacks a day for fresh fruits or veggies.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed

Kathleen Quinlan 7/29/2023 5:08 PM
I posted a shoutout on Facebook today for Carolyn’s Farm Kitchen and in person. They do not use plastic bags for their products. It is paper bags.

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Kathleen Quinlan 7/29/2023 4:50 PM
What have I learned: we are such a grow away society and where we throw it, who cares. It is frustrating but I always think of the starfish story. By picking up one piece of plastic it will make a difference hopefully to one animal.
For my life personally: to remember to bring my reusable bags every time I go out to run errands.

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Kathleen Quinlan 7/28/2023 7:06 AM
I think my challenge is going well. Yesterday I spoke to a woman who was coming out of the Dollar Store with her bought items in a plastic bag despite having reusable bags in her had. When I said something to her she recognized what she had done but felt it was too late as she had the plastic bag in hand. She was going to the grocery store with the reusable bags. The fact that she knew she had messed up was good. Hopefully next time she will use the reusable bags for everything and not just groceries.

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- Kathleen Quinlan 7/28/2023 8:28 AM
  I went to Walmart yesterday on my errand run and had already used 2 reusable bags. So I’m thinking to myself what do I do now so I don’t use a plastic bag. I could have dumped what was in my reusable bag in my car and then bring it into the store or and this is what I did. I bought what I needed and then carried them bag free and put them in my already in use reusable bag. I guess I really need to organize myself better and have enough reusable bags for the number of stores I am going to.
  
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- Krystina Jarvis 7/28/2023 7:27 AM
  Honestly that was such a mindset shift for me when I started my zero waste journey! We see and hear all the messaging about using reusable bags at the grocery store but hardly ever in any other kind of store. It seems obvious once you're aware of it, but until it's pointed out to you, you might not even think of it!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community

What was your strategy in talking with your favorite restaurant's management? Did you find it to be effective?
Kathleen Quinlan 7/28/2023 7:00 AM
I don’t usually go out dining but the last time I did I discussed with the owner going plastic free straws. He was all for it and was looking into what was out there. He also talked about what he is doing regarding takeout containers. If his customers want to they can sign up for reusable containers. When they come to pick up their next order they leave the previous containers which are washed and reused. That also engages the consumer in being more conscious of keeping plastic, etc. out of the environment.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community

In what ways is social media an effective tool for sharing your values?
Kathleen Quinlan 7/28/2023 6:29 AM
If you are passionate about keeping the environment clean, free from plastics and other pollutants and practice it then social media can definitely help. People read and follow “influencers” on social media so you can make a difference one person at a time.

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Kathleen Quinlan 7/25/2023 10:05 AM
Spoke to the gentleman, Bob who was picking up one of those large metal trash containers left at different sites and replaced with an empty one. I asked him what happens to all that trash, junk, etc. He said it goes to a site and is sorted. What can be separated out is recycled metals, wood etc. But a lot of the plastic is not as it is too costly and difficult. It is ground down and ends up in landfills. There needs to be a better way to handle plastic when in ends up in these large industrial containers. 😢

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Kathleen Quinlan 7/23/2023 3:40 PM
This afternoon I washed two buckets of trash ( bottles, cans, straws and other pieces of plastic). I had collected these last weekend and yesterday. This Friday is my recycling day and these will go into my bins.

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Kathleen Quinlan 7/22/2023 2:28 PM
I am finding it an uphill battle as some people just don’t care. The other day I watched someone walk by a piece of trash which she could have leaned over, picked it up and put it in the trash barrel. At work I am frequently stopping to pick something up and making a comment hoping my colleagues will eventually follow suit when I am not there. I am not holding my breath. I won’t stop though.

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Kathleen Quinlan 7/16/2023 1:14 PM
On 7/15 I collected 2 bags of plastic water bottles, cans, straws, etc from the house building sites near me. I saw one man sitting in his truck as I was walking down the street and spoke to him about the trash just discarded by the different contractors. He was Hispanic like most of the workers I have seen. He did speak English but I found a disconnect between what I was attempting to tell him and what I think he was understanding.
I got to thinking on my way back home as to why this was.
#1 English was not his primary language
#2 He could easily have been an immigrant. I was thinking about how a lot have traveled here from Central and South America and they may have been just throwing their cups, bottles, whatever along the way. There were no trash barrels or recycle bins anywhere.
#3 In a lot of these countries recycling and keeping plastics out of the environment is not commonplace. It is the last thing on some of their minds, survival is.
#4 We need to find a way to truly educate the new arrivals in our midst. Perhaps start with the kids who are in the school system and they can bring the knowledge home to their parents. It going to be their children’s world that needs to be protected.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Kitchen

How difficult was this challenge for you? What made it easy or difficult?
Kathleen Quinlan 7/13/2023 5:28 PM
Was in Wildbirds Unlimited today buying some window decals to ward off bird strikes. The owner asked if I wanted a bag and I said no then explained why. Most stores put your items in plastic bags. I had forgotten that this store uses paper. We then had a discussion on how it is so difficult to get rid of plastic since so things are made of plastic. They are doing their part in a small way.

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