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October 3 - October 24, 2018
Anne Whiting's avatar

Anne Whiting

Perkins & Co

"There's no excuse for single use."

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 576 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    40
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    12
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    16
    plastic straws
    not sent to the landfill

Anne's actions

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 2 meatless meal(s) and/or 0 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Launch a Recycling Program

I will start a recycling program at my workplace or school. If a recycling program exists, I will advocate for ways to improve and expand it.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Advocate For More Food Packaging Options

I will advocate for alternatives to single-use packaging at local grocery stores, markets, at work, or on campus.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Historically, marginalized and low-income communities live closer to landfills, contributing to a multitude of health problems. I will find out how I can limit single-use items and do my best to limit the waste I generate.

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Skip the Straw

Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our waterways. I will keep 1 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill and ocean each day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

COMPLETED 16
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use Reusable Bags

I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

COMPLETED 14
DAILY ACTIONS

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?


  • Anne Whiting's avatar
    Anne Whiting 10/24/2018 9:01 AM
    I can't even remember the last time I ate meat!

  • Anne Whiting's avatar
    Anne Whiting 10/19/2018 8:27 AM
    Does anyone know of a lightweight bike lock?  I would stop at the co-op on my way home if I carried a lock with me.

  • Anne Whiting's avatar
    Anne Whiting 10/18/2018 12:24 PM
    Last night as I rode my bike home, I thought about how I will be bike commuting to work for at least another 33 years.  I'm not excited to work that long but I am so stoked to bike commute forever!

  • Anne Whiting's avatar
    Anne Whiting 10/15/2018 9:44 AM
    In an effort to reduce waste from packaging, I have been questioning each single item I would otherwise buy.  The result?  I don't need most of it and I have been saving a lot of money.  I think a huge misconception about choosing eco-friendly products is that they are more expensive but when you adjust your entire lifestyle to be more eco-thoughtful, you actually end up on top.

  • Anne Whiting's avatar
    Anne Whiting 10/12/2018 8:27 AM
    I was given a single use container yesterday when I ordered at a coffee shop and had intended the drink "for here".  I feel so gross about it.  When I have failed, it always comes down to me not communicating my intentions clearly so that is something I really need to work on improving.

  • Anne Whiting's avatar
    Anne Whiting 10/10/2018 1:00 PM
    Yesterday, we used our last paper bag in our "stash" that has lasted us many months since we made the commitment to bring our own bags!  Sometimes we falter, but I think our habit has been definitely more successful in the past few months than all of the months leading up to it!  Cheers!

  • Anne Whiting's avatar
    Anne Whiting 10/09/2018 11:41 AM
    I got a new pair of ethically made boots for the fall and one seam came apart my third time trying them on.  I contacted the manufacturer who told me they would be happy to do an exchange or pay for the boots to be repaired by a local cobbler.  I'm going with the latter option - I can bike to the cobbler and support someone locally versus the shipping of my shoes back to the manufacturer and then them also shipping another pair back to me.  Since the challenge began, my carbon footprint has been front and center in my mind.

  • Anne Whiting's avatar
    Anne Whiting 10/08/2018 8:18 AM
    Eating less meat is so easy and I have been eating vegan meals as well!  I am really surprised by how easy it is to make the change in my diet.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Reduce Animal Products
    What do you think contributes to people in North America eating more meat than in other places, and what does this say about North American values and ways of living? How do we start shifting a meat-focused food culture?

    Anne Whiting's avatar
    Anne Whiting 10/08/2018 8:16 AM
    Almost 75% of Americans are obese - health is not a priority for Americans at all.  They are obsessed with convenience (fast food) and don't think about the environmental impact of their decisions because they don't have to.  Our current administration isn't helping shift the focus.  Deny, deny, deny.  I have no idea how to solve this problem on a mass scale but I know that my efforts to eat less meat are helping and not hurting.  We can't wait for policy to change the way Americans live.  We have to make the change ourselves and one day, policy will catch up with us.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Waste Advocate For More Food Packaging Options
    What concerns you the most about how we are affecting the planet? Consider both local and global actions.

    Anne Whiting's avatar
    Anne Whiting 10/03/2018 8:41 AM
    I am so concerned for our oceans and wildlife.  All of the plastic is preposterous.  I am worried that when I retire, there won't be much of a planet left for me to enjoy.  In the past two years, the wildfires in Oregon (and elsewhere) have destroyed many of my favorite backpacking spots.  What if there is nowhere left to backpack when I have all of the time in the world?  And what if, when I retire, all of our sea life is extinct because of our single use habits?  It's so upsetting.  I want more people to care.