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Megan Anderson's avatar

Megan Anderson

National Aquarium

"A game to up my green game"

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 1,490 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    4.0
    conversations
    with people
  • UP TO
    20
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    73
    pieces of litter
    picked up
  • UP TO
    15
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    24
    plastic straws
    not sent to the landfill

Megan's actions

Bedroom

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

Kitchen

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 14
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Minimize Packaging

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

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Skip Plastic Bags

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

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Share My Actions

I will make my environmental actions visible by sharing about them on my social media networks and the Plastic Free Ecochallenge participant feed.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Keep My Community Clean

I will pick up 5 piece(s) of litter each day.

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

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?


  • Megan Anderson's avatar
    Megan Anderson 7/29/2023 3:20 AM
    I’m packing for a short road trip today- going to make sure I throw some reusable straws in my purse in case we make a roadside stop!

  • Megan Anderson's avatar
    Megan Anderson 7/28/2023 5:55 AM
    Change takes work! This platform is a group of people who are all actively working to better themselves and their environment and I’m so appreciative of it every year.

  • Megan Anderson's avatar
    Megan Anderson 7/16/2023 4:04 AM
    National Aquarium is in 3rd place! I love how many people across the organization and network show up for this.

  • Megan Anderson's avatar
    Megan Anderson 7/11/2023 6:34 AM
    I learned today that EPS styrofoam can be 100% recycled but that there are only a few facilities that do so. National Aquarium's Exhibits and Design team decided to collect all EPS and transport it to the one facility in Maryland. I'm very grateful for that team. But how did our planet get to this point??

    • Maggie Ostdahl's avatar
      Maggie Ostdahl 7/11/2023 1:46 PM
      I don't think that's a rhetorical question! We exist in an economic system that encourages overconsumption of stuff, and the costs of waste and pollution generated from all that stuff are externalized onto the environment and inequitably across society rather than accounted for by producers of the stuff.

      I am also incredibly grateful to our colleagues for being willing to collect and transport EPS/packaging foam for recycling until the use of EPS is further minimized through better alternatives.

  • Megan Anderson's avatar
    Megan Anderson 7/10/2023 9:40 AM
    I get a lot of joy when I pack my kids lunchboxes and notice that there is zero plastic and lots of colorful food. I'm sure I'll get a little heat from not cutting the crusts off of their bread though - haha.

  • Megan Anderson's avatar
    Megan Anderson 7/08/2023 4:37 PM
    I’m curious if anyone has tried Lomi or other brands of “composters”. I don’t they don’t quite compost but with an HOA an outside compost bin isn’t what I want it to be.

    • Patricia Jonas's avatar
      Patricia Jonas 7/10/2023 1:52 PM
      Let me know if you would like to test drive my Lomi for a few weeks to see if it works for you. It’s not a cheap casual purchase and it may help you decide.

    • Megan Anderson's avatar
      Megan Anderson 7/09/2023 3:42 AM
      Thanks Pat!! That’s helpful. 16-20 is the cycle that I would want to do I’m guessing as I’d want to just mix the product in with my garden beds. Some of the other brands didn’t seem to have that longer cycle.

    • Patricia Jonas's avatar
      Patricia Jonas 7/09/2023 3:20 AM
      I have had the Lomi for a couple of years. I live in an apartment so I can’t do outdoor composting. It generally does a good job of breaking down waste. It takes up some space on the counter. There are several “modes” - the shortest is 4 hours for the Eco express, 5-8 hours if you want to include bioplastics or compostable commercial Items and the longest is 16 -20 hours which kills off fewer microorganisms and can create gardening compost. There’s a refillable charcoal filter which deals with odor and they sell tablets that you can include in a batch which they say are probiotics that can improve the speed, cut down on odor and help if you want to use the material for your garden. I think there are several other companies that make these composters but I did not research those before I purchased this one.

  • Megan Anderson's avatar
    Megan Anderson 7/07/2023 11:19 AM
    Happy Friday. Made it almost a full week of actions and check in’s so I’m feeling good!

  • Megan Anderson's avatar
    Megan Anderson 7/05/2023 8:52 AM
    I went to the dentist today and denied the classic freebies of the travel sized toothpaste and floss. I could tell that most people don’t turn those down because they asked me several times if I was sure.

  • Megan Anderson's avatar
    Megan Anderson 7/04/2023 6:56 AM
    It’s July 4th- lots of opportunities today to reduce plastics when choosing what to eat!

  • Megan Anderson's avatar
    Megan Anderson 7/02/2023 4:00 AM
    I’ve realized I’m much better at remembering to check in in the morning. So I will log yesterdays actions from now on - finding what works for me is still a win for the planet.