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Emma Bower's avatar

Emma Bower

OKC Zoo and Botanical Garden

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 325 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1.0
    pound
    food waste prevented
  • UP TO
    5.0
    pounds
    waste avoided
  • UP TO
    17
    plastic bottles
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    4.0
    disposable cups
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    3.0
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill

Emma's actions

Kitchen

Skip Plastic Bags

Whenever possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when shopping, including produce bags. I will either use my own reusable bags, or keep my items loose.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Fill a Water Bottle

Bottled water corporations make plastic bottles, not water. If the tap water in my area is safe for consumption, I will use a reusable bottle instead and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 010 disposable plastic bottles a day.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Start Composting

Composting isn't just good for soil! Composting your food scraps and other organic materials decreases your overall trash output, so you don't have to take the trash out as often and extend the life of your trash bags (i.e. use less plastic!). This month, I will start a compost collection at home, work, or school and avoid sending 1 pounds of food waste to landfill each day.

COMPLETED 2
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 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Take the pre-survey!

Help us make the Plastic Free Ecochallenge the best it can be! Take the challenge pre-survey (and look out for the post-survey at the end of the challenge!) so we can better understand the impact the challenge has and how we can improve in the future. Plus, you'll earn points for completing it! Thank you!

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Family + Pets

Mend and Repair

We've all got it - that thing in the back of our closet we keep saying we'll fix "one day." I will make today that day by learning how to mend or repair ripped or broken items in my home - or by finding a local offering to do it for me.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Family + Pets

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 1
DAILY ACTION

Kitchen

Use a Reusable Mug

Even just one to-go coffee or tea a week adds up to 52 trashed cups in a year! I will avoid sending 1 disposable cups to the landfill per day by using a reusable mug or travel cup.

COMPLETED 3
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 3
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Participant Feed

  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Kitchen
    It's only "single-use" if it's only used once! What are some other creative ways to reuse unavoidable "single-use" items?

    Emma Bower's avatar
    Emma Bower 7/05/2024 6:00 AM
    I like to make rags from old clothes, and sometimes they get dirty to the point I don't want to even attempt to wash them (especially as I don't have laundry easily available to me). Often times I'll just end up tossing the rag, and I used to feel bad about this, but then I remember how much of our clothing "donations" end up in landfills in the era of fast fashion and don't feel too bad at all. I've started sorting my clothing rags into "washable" and "tossable." Polyesters and such that don't clean up that well anyways end up in the toss pile and cottons go in the washable pile.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Kitchen
    It can be easy to forget to bring your reusable bags to the store with you - especially if you're going somewhere besides the grocery store. What are your favorite ways to remember your reusable bags?

    Emma Bower's avatar
    Emma Bower 7/05/2024 5:45 AM
    Bag in purse, bag in car, 2nd bag in car, 3 bags in car.... I have so many reusable bags in my car
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Family + Pets
    Besides the economic benefits of using the things we already own, how can this practice impact our lives in other ways and influence the way we interact with "things"?

    Emma Bower's avatar
    Emma Bower 7/05/2024 5:41 AM
    Going through items I've been storing away has helped me organize and make more convenient the things I use