

Marissa Tompkins
"My Mission: To make the world a safer, cleaner place for my generation and all generations after me."
Points Total
- 0 Today
- 0 This Week
- 1,188 Total
Participant Impact
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up to71plastic containersnot sent to the landfill
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up to206pieces of litterpicked up
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up to1.0waste auditsconducted
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up to1.0donationsmade
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up to50advocacy actionscompleted
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up to71conversationswith people
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up to1.0community eventshosted or attended
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up to117minutesspent learning
Marissa's Actions
Lifestyle
Support a Sharing Economy
I will create or support a sharing economy with family, friends, and neighbors.
Lifestyle
Buy Only What I Need
I will not buy anything except items required for health and safety.
Food
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.
Food
Advocate for Office Reusables
I will lobby my workplace to have reusable dishes and silverware in order to minimize disposables.
Food
Minimize Packaging
I will purchase food items with the least amount of packaging.
Food
Plant a Garden
I will plant a herb or vegetable garden using as little plastic as possible and to save from the plastic used buying herbs and veggies.
Food
Advocate For Better Food Packaging
I will advocate for alternatives to single use packaging at local grocery stores, markets, or work.
Food
Cook a Plastic Free Meal
I will prepare meals at home each day without using any items packaged in single-use plastic.
Personal Care
Brush with Bamboo
I will replace my plastic toothbrush with a bamboo toothbrush.
Personal Care
Green Beauty
When it's time to buy more, I will replace my beauty products with refillable, sustainable, and/or DIY options.
Community
Dig into Bioplastics
I will spend at least 30 minutes researching the impacts of bioplastics and how to properly dispose of them in my city, and I will share this information with 5 friends, family, and/or colleagues.
Community
Tour A Waste Management Facility
I will spend at least 60 minute(s) touring (virtually or in person) a local dump/transfer station, material recovery facility, and/or landfill to learn about our local waste and waste recovery streams.
Community
Keep My Community Clean
I will pick up 5 piece(s) of litter each day.
Community
Say No to Styrofoam
Throughout its life cycle, polystyrene (styrofoam) can harm people, communities, and the planet. I will refuse styrofoam whenever I can, making sure to kindly let people know why I'm asking for alternative packaging.
Community
Estimate My Plastic Consumption
I will visit the rePurpose website, complete the 3-minute plastic consumption calculator, and explore how I can reBalance my annual plastic footprint.
Community
Join a Cleanup Effort
I will host or participate in a beach, highway, river, or other cleanup effort in my community that follows the CDC’s current guidelines for prevention of disease transfer.
Community
Raise Money For a Nonprofit
I will raise money to support a nonprofit dedicated to plastic pollution reduction.
Lifestyle
Proper Bioplastic Disposal
I will spend at least 60 minutes researching how to properly dispose of bioplastics in my city and share this information with 5 friends, family, and/or colleagues.
Lifestyle
Complete a Waste Audit
I will conduct a waste audit - including recyclables and compost - to understand how much waste I create and where I can reduce the most.
Pets
All Natural Pet Toys
I will give my pets natural alternatives to toys like femur bones and antlers, canvas, natural rubber, hemp, rope or cotton toys. Or make our own toys from recycled items found in our home!
Family
Learn about Environmental Justice
Using the action resource links below, my family will spend 60 minutes learning about environmental justice, causes of environmental injustice, and how plastic waste disproportionately impacts already vulnerable communities.
Family
Swap the Snacks
I will swap out 2 prepackaged snacks a day for fresh fruits or veggies.
Feed
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Reflection QuestionLifestyle Proper Bioplastic DisposalWhat concerns you the most about how we are affecting the planet? Consider both local and global actions.
Marissa Tompkins 7/26/2022 9:34 AMWow! I learned a lot. I have already watched "A Plastic Ocean" on Netflix and read quite a few books on the matter, but reading these additional journalistic sources was helpful! It was a good reminder that every small things I do - from washing my clothes in a guppy bag, to buying clothing made from natural products, to lowering my plastic consumption - makes a difference. We all affect the planet in every single choice we make. I am most concerned about how we are affecting life around us. We are causing entire species to go into extinction without any care for how that will impact the overall food chain. We need to work to stop and then reverse the way we are treating our ONLY planet - We treat it like a garbage dump. -
Marissa Tompkins 7/25/2022 8:33 AM6 days left!!! Let's keep pushing to make this a super impactful Plastic-Free July! :D -
Reflection QuestionPets All Natural Pet ToysIn what ways is supplying your pet with all natural pet toys better for your pet, better for you, and better for the environment?
Marissa Tompkins 7/19/2022 12:13 PMI will take old textiles - towels, shirts, pants, etc. - that cannot be donated, and I cut them into strips before knotting and braiding the material into a toy for my dog. He is a wonderful golden retriever, who loves to thrash/throw toys in the air! He is hilarious and will even pick out these hand-made toys over the store-bought toys. -
Reflection QuestionPersonal Care Brush with BambooWhat are the benefits of switching to bamboo toothbrushes? How would you implore others in your community to make this switch as well?
Marissa Tompkins 7/19/2022 12:11 PMThis is wild, but I actually won a bamboo toothbrush for a plastic free July challenge I took part in on Instagram! My toothbrush is from Zero Waste Store and I am so excited to begin using it! It's crazy that every toothbrush I have EVER USED is still somewhere on Earth today. And I have used a LOT of toothbrushes. I am excited to have something that I can compost at home! -
Reflection QuestionFamily Learn about Environmental JusticeWhat did you and your family learn about environmental justice? What questions came up for you? What feelings?
Marissa Tompkins 7/19/2022 7:51 AMI know that environmental justice has been an issue, but I didn't realize how far back the issue started or that it was a movement done by minorities. I had no idea that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was part of the environmental justice movement, but I am thankful that there was a large movement on environmental justice! I know there is still a disproportionate amount of people suffering from environmental injustice and that it is often minorities and women. Some ways that I have personally seen this in my life are: living in Nevada and seeing people work on the mine sites and have more breathing issues. I also learned that the closer you live to a highway the more polluted your air is. Unfortunately, homes/apartments closer to a highway are typically cheaper. -
Reflection QuestionCommunity Raise Money For a NonprofitWhat are organizations in your region doing to address plastic pollution or other related issues? How can you support them?
Marissa Tompkins 7/17/2022 10:05 AMI have turned on giving mode with bing! I am donating all my points to Pollinator Partnership this month! I am happy that just by searching the internet I am able to provide help to an organization I believe in! -
Reflection QuestionCommunity Dig into BioplasticsWhat did you learn about bioplastic production and disposal? Did anything surprise you? Are bioplastics accepted by your city's waste management?
Marissa Tompkins 7/15/2022 2:36 PMBioplastics aren't as great for the environment as people like to claim they are. Most of them cannot be turned back into soil - meaning even though they re made from bio mass they aren't biodegradable! I knew that the best thing to do was reduce, reduce, reduce! it's sometimes hard to get to that point though with how prevalent plastic is in society. -
Reflection QuestionLifestyle Complete a Waste AuditWhat did you learn about the waste you create? Where can you reduce the most?
Marissa Tompkins 7/12/2022 1:03 PMI did a waste audit last Plastic-Free July as well! I am happy to say that my waste has gone down considerably from last year! However, I can still strive to reduce my waste further. My fiancé and I make 1 trash bag a week or less. I am striving to further reduce our waste not through recycling more, but through reducing our consumption. I switched to vegetarianism which has helped a lot! We no longer have the Styrofoam and plastic packaging from meat products to throw away, but many nuts, fruits, and veggies still come in plastic. We're trying to increase our "shop small" factor by going to the farmer's market and growing our own food in the garden! -
Reflection QuestionFood Cook a Plastic Free MealDo an inventory of your kitchen to see how many single-use plastics you've used in the past. What are some resuable alternatives to these commonly used products? What would your impact be if you switched all the single-use products from your inventory to reusable?
Marissa Tompkins 7/12/2022 12:51 PMI made a vegetarian meal last night of: cabbage (loose), carrots (loose), onion (loose), kale (loose), and brussels sprouts (loose) - I ate the leftovers today for lunch! As someone who shops at Aldi, it's often hard to find vegetables that are loose instead of wrapped in plastic so it felt like a huge win to be able to find these items outside of the plastic! I also got to used tomatoes and basil I grew in my backyard garden. -
Reflection QuestionFood Minimize PackagingWith the added mindfulness of reducing your packaging, what have you noticed about the amount and type of single use plastics used for packaging when you shop in the grocery store?
Marissa Tompkins 7/09/2022 6:25 PMWhen I am at the grocery I have completely stopped purchasing goods like: ice cream! I now turn it into a fun treat I can get when a shop has cones available. It’s a fun way to reduce my waste and make it feel like a reward! 🍦-
Marissa Tompkins 7/12/2022 12:57 PMYes, Brenda! I find plastic hard to get away from in the grocery store, but it is definitely worth it to try! -
Brenda WH 7/12/2022 5:29 AMYes, there are many goods at the store that have way too much packaging! Another option can also be making your own.
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