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Douglas Richter's avatar

Douglas Richter

The Maryland Zoo

POINTS TOTAL

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  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 65 TOTAL

Douglas's 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 0
DAILY 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.

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DAILY ACTIONS

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 5 disposable cups to the landfill per day by using a reusable mug or travel cup.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Save Jars for Reuse

Pinterest may want you to think that you need a cupboard full of matching mason jars, but reusing what we already have is one of the best ways to reduce our waste. This month, instead of recycling glass jars (such as pasta sauce, pickles, and salsa jars), I will save them to reuse for food storage.

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DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

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.

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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.

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DAILY ACTIONS

Kitchen

Dive Into Expiration Dates

Just because something is past its "expiration date," it might not actually be expired! I will spend 10 minutes learning about the difference between best by, use by, and sell by dates and how to tell if my food is actually expired.

UNCOMPLETED
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

Go Strawless

Each year, the International Coastal Cleanup reports that plastic straws and stirrers are one of the Top 10 most-collected items from their cleanups (top 5 in the US!). I will keep 3 plastic straws and/or stirrers out of the landfill each day by refusing straws or using my own reusable straw.

COMPLETED 0
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 5 disposable plastic bottles a day.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

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