Coalition of North American Zoos and Aquariums

Plastic Free Ecochallenge

July 1 - July 31, 2020

Maria Watson

Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens

"I Skip the Straw! How about you?"

Points Total

0 Today
0 This Week
731 Total

Participant Impact

up to

25

minutes

spent learning
up to

300

pieces of litter

picked up
up to

1

waste audits

conducted
up to

19

zero-waste meals

consumed

Maria's Actions

Personal Care

Lather Up

I will replace my soaps, shampoos, and conditioners with either a bar or refillable option.

Completed
One-Time Action

Lifestyle

Natural Fibers

When available, I will purchase clothing made with natural fibers, such as cotton, linen, or wool, rather than synthetic fibers.

Completed
One-Time Action

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.

Completed
One-Time Action

Family

Discover Together

I will spend 10 minutes educating my family on the basics of living a reduced/no-plastic lifestyle.

Completed
One-Time Action

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 I will make our own toys from recycled items found in our home!

Completed
One-Time Action

Community

Keep My Community Clean

I will pick up 5 piece(s) of litter each day while following the CDC’s current guidelines for prevention of disease transfer.

COMPLETED 25
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Buy Unpackaged Produce

I will purchase produce items without plastic packaging, making sure to wash them well before using them.

COMPLETED 10
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Minimize Packaging

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

COMPLETED 10
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Cook a Zero-Plastic Waste Meal

I will prepare 2 meal(s) at home each day without using any items packaged in single-use plastic.

COMPLETED 11
DAILY ACTIONS

Personal Care

See the Green

I will properly recycle used contact lenses and packaging.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Feed

Reflection Question
Personal Care Lather Up

What are the economic and personal benefits of switching to bar soap/shampoo/conditioner or refillable bottle options?

Maria Watson 7/26/2020 9:17 AM

I have only purchased bar soap/shampoo from LUSH and I absolutley love their products... however I view them more as a luxury because they tend to be pretty expensive. I could buy a huge 24-40 ounce bottle of shampoo ranging from $3-9 and it would last me more than 2 months versus buying the bar that from LUSH is around $9-11, which would last me about a month if I make sure to keep it in the air tight container I have for it! But I have found some on amazon that seem to be less than $10... but the idea is to go for quality over quantity and how it can help impact your plastic pollution! From what I have noticed there are less ingredients in a bar shampoo than bottles (in most big named brands at least) and the ones I have used usually do wonders for my hair!

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Reflection Question
Lifestyle Natural Fibers

What are the benefits (to people, animals, and the environment) of purchasing clothes made with natural fibers?

Maria Watson 7/24/2020 6:56 PM

While on vacation, we made sure the t-shirts we bought were 100% cotton that way they would be made of natural fibers! Cotton comes from the earth and isn’t made in a test tube like nylon is! I want to research more about how the fibers can effect the environment though.... it’s super interesting!

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Reflection Question
Lifestyle Complete a Waste Audit

What did you learn about the waste you create? Where can you reduce the most?

Maria Watson 7/24/2020 6:54 PM

My family and I did one at home and during our vacation to see how it differed! It was pretty much the same but it makes me sad to see how much trash we do use! Alot if not all of the packaging that houses meatless meat options we consume are not recyclable plastics! So that’s frustrating! And our recycling is always overflowing... this isn’t a good thing. We love to buy flavored waters so we have decided to mainly buy ones that are only in aluminum cans from here on out!

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Reflection Question
Family Discover Together

What concerns you the most about how we are affecting the planet? Consider both local and global actions.

Maria Watson 7/24/2020 6:48 PM

Where to even begin!? Plastic is a huge problem but so is global warming and sometimes these things go hand in hand. It’s all about our CO2 emissions, how we can control them/lower them, and reduce our trash both tangible and gas!

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Reflection Question
Personal Care See the Green

Take a moment to estimate how many disposable daily contacts you may have used over the years. What would be your impact now of switching to a contact brand with a longer lifespan?

Maria Watson 7/24/2020 6:39 PM

So I use monthly contacts and have since probably high school so I’ve roughly used them for about 10 years...120 pairs... so roughly less than 240 contacts! That number seems insane! But could you imagine daily’s??? That’s nuts! And knowing now that there’s a way to recycle them is a game changer!

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Maria Watson 7/23/2020 5:43 PM

Stopped to get ice cream to go today and we didn’t think it would make it to the house with the heat so we grabbed these guys! Saw these compostable Spoons when we were in the Keys and now in NJ. THEY are awesome and in some places are able to be recycled too (this is tricky because it’s a #7). But still cool!

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Maria Watson 7/21/2020 9:31 AM

Look how cool! They have boxed water and now water in a can! So exciting! Skip the plastic bottles! 💚

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Maria Watson 7/21/2020 4:38 AM

Last week I spoke about Skipping the Straw (of course😂💕) and this week I spoke about the Do’s and Don’ts of recycling. Today while at the beach, while people are social distancing they are still leaving things behind... especially masks😞. In the 3 bags worth of trash that I found there were straws, cigarette butts, plastic lids, wrappers, and a Dino! I love cleaning the beach (which I haven’t been in almost a year! Ugh!) and while I was three people thanked me for cleaning up and they were like... wow we need to do that too so I spoke to them about it! It only takes a conversation! 💚🌎🐢

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- Maria Watson 7/21/2020 4:38 AM
  
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Maria Watson 7/17/2020 7:30 PM

So so excited! Actually found spinach without plastic!! I did not know it actually existed! I was super shocked! 💕

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- Julianne Doctor 7/21/2020 12:00 AM
  
  I've seen unpackaged spinach somewhere in town. I think it was at Freshfields Farm.
  
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- Maria Watson 7/19/2020 6:50 AM
  
  I was so shocked, I squealed and pulled out my phone to take a picture😂
  
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- Bigi Luginbuhl 7/19/2020 6:47 AM
  
  Yeah, I haven't seen it on the east coast except at Grassroots in Riverside.
  
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Maria Watson 7/14/2020 10:59 AM

Anyone else get upset at how much plastic we use at work? How can we fix this? How do we use less zipties?

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- Bigi Luginbuhl 7/19/2020 6:50 AM
  
  Yes! Drives me crazy and sometimes they still use Styrofoam in the restaurants or for events!
  
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- Maria Watson 7/18/2020 6:50 AM
  
  Exactly! You and I have talked about this before too! I honestly can’t think of anything! ☹️
  
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- Julianne Doctor 7/17/2020 10:20 PM
  
  This is something that I wrestle with a lot. A lot of the items we use come packaged in plastic but usually for convenience and safety/hygienic reasons. What else could you package Instant Ocean in to keep out moisture within a humid environment? Or properly store bleach within a saline setting? It's questions like these that keep me up at night.
  
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