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Mary Botterbusch's avatar

Mary Botterbusch

The Maryland Zoo

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 1,075 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    13
    food items
    properly stored
  • UP TO
    10
    pounds
    waste avoided
  • UP TO
    2.0
    plastic bottles
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    5.0
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    48
    gallons of water
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    80
    minutes
    spent learning

Mary's actions

Community

Research Local Waste Sites

I will spend 60 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

Bedroom

Practice Sustainable Fashion

I will spend 60 minutes learning about the costs of fast fashion and begin trying to practice sustainable fashion in my own life.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Bedroom

Proper Clothing Care

All those symbols on our clothes, sheets, and towels actually have meanings! To ensure that I'm caring for my clothes properly, I will spend 30 minutes learning what the care symbols mean and laundry best practices to make all of my textiles last as long as possible.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Become a Recycling Pro

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 60 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Embrace Imperfection

Eliminating 100% of all plastic from our lives simply isn't possible. Throughout this month, I will embrace imperfection in my plastic-free journey while exploring and testing new ways to reduce my plastic footprint.

COMPLETED 21
DAILY ACTIONS

Bedroom

Eco Detergent

Ditch the plastic jugs, artificial dyes, and harmful ingredients! When it's time to replace my current laundry detergent, I will switch to a natural laundry detergent that is packaged in glass or aluminum, or an alternative like soap nuts.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Bedroom

Rethink Returns

While most stores offer lenient return policies, what actually happens to all of those returns? I will spend 30 minutes learning about what happens to returns and how I can make better purchasing decisions to avoid returns in the future.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Kitchen

Use The Dishwasher

Using your dishwasher doesn't just save water! I will use my dishwasher whenever possible to extend the life of my sponges and dish cloths, and shed less microfibers from them.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Plastic-Free Produce Storage

Produce doesn't need to be stored in plastic bags to stay fresh! I will learn how to properly store my produce to extend its freshness without single-use plastic.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Bathroom

Use What You Have

The only thing worse than a single-use item is a zero-use item! I will use (and use up) what I already have in my home before buying something new.

COMPLETED 11
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Is it trash...or a trash bag?

The plastic industry has convinced us that some plastic bags are "trash bags," while others are just "trash." Instead of throwing empty bags away (such as bread bags, pet food bags, etc.), I will reuse them as trash bags.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Choose Unpackaged Produce

I will purchase unpackaged produce at the grocery store or at the farmer's market.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Get Scrappy

Get creative in the kitchen (or the garden)! Before tossing food scraps, I'll explore other ways to utilize the scraps and give them another life.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Study

Numbers Everywhere

The numbers #1-7 on plastics tell us a lot - and can help us be better recyclers. I will learn what these numbers mean and which types of plastics are accepted for recycling in my area.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Study

Recycle My Tech

There's value in our old electronics! This month, I will properly recycle any old laptops, tablets, cell phones, or other electronics I have lying around so the raw materials can be reused and reduce demand for virgin materials - thereby also protecting critical wildlife habitat for animals such as gorillas and forest elephants.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Bathroom

Travel Toiletries

Travel-size toiletries aren't just more expensive per ounce, they also have a higher plastic-to-contents ratio, and result in over 980 tonnes (2.2 million pounds) of plastic waste each year. If traveling this month, I will reuse my old travel tubes to refill with my soaps or only bring bar soaps with me.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Bedroom

Declutter Sustainably

While it can be tempting to throw away (or drop off at Goodwill) any and everything that no longer brings us joy, there are so many options that are better for the planet! This month, I will declutter my home and properly dispose or re-home the things I no longer want.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Bedroom

Ditch Dryer Sheets

Plastic sheets coated in softeners, lubricants, and fragrances, dryer sheets just aren't great for the planet or our bodies. Instead, I will use wool dryer balls or another plastic-free alternative to dryer sheets to keep my clothes static-free.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Bedroom

Sunshine Bleached

I will hang-dry my laundry to use the sun as a natural bleach alternative, or use another natural bleach alternative.

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?