Karsen Buck

"To generate a sustainable environment that is functional for a small community which will build beneficial relationships and strengthen the health and culture within and surrounding the land. "

Points Total

0 Today
0 This Week
230 Total

Participant Impact

up to

8.0

disposable cups

not sent to the landfill
up to

3.0

pounds of paper

have been saved
up to

12

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill
up to

10

minutes

spent learning

Karsen's Actions

Waste

Use Reusable Bags

I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Waste

Use a Reusable Mug

I will avoid sending 2 disposable cup(s) to the landfill each day by using a reusable mug.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Recycle Everything I Can

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 10 minutes researching and recycling all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Waste

Choose Two-Sided Printing

I will save up to .21 lbs (.09 kg) of paper each day by switching from one-sided printing to two-sided.

COMPLETED 3
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 3 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill and ocean each day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Feed

Karsen Buck 10/10/2018 4:10 PM

Recycling things I've learned: Most people call "tin cans," but the containers your green beans come in are mostly made of steel. Americans use about 100 million steel cans every day. That's 36.5 billion cans a year. About 71% of steel cans are recycled, making them one of the most recycled packaging products in America.

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Karsen Buck 10/09/2018 9:39 AM

My challenges are going well and I believe I will be able to continue them after the challenge. However, I am having difficulty at work recycling everything I can. For example, we do not compost and we use a lot of paper towels because we work in the food business so I wash my hands constantly. Should I ask if we could hang a towel up or could that potentially cause other problems?

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- Fallon Harris 10/10/2018 8:50 AM
  
  Change at the workplace can be challenging, but isn't impossible. There's no harm in asking about hanging up a washable towel or bringing up the topic of how to reduce waste with your manager. The worst that could happen is you are told no. But even then, at least you have planted a little seed and brought some awareness to the issue.
  
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Reflection Question
Waste Recycle Everything I Can

What have you learned about what is accepted by local haulers for recycling, what you can drop off or ship to certain places, and what is not recyclable in your area? What is the most difficult part of recycling for you?

Karsen Buck 10/03/2018 3:20 PM

I would say that I have learned that a lot of people do not know they cannot recycle the lid to water bottles and that needs to be educated across the globe. The most difficult part for me are the rules for recycling especially in your own area. I want and need to do more research.

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Reflection Question
Waste Skip the Straw

How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle?

Karsen Buck 10/03/2018 3:18 PM

I could incorporate these into my lifestyle by educating others on my own sustainable actions or start to visualize and carry the plastic that I acquire in a week or waste in other means. I can also try to utilize my trash into other creations.

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Reflection Question
Waste Use a Reusable Mug

Maybe you've heard how good it is to switch from a single use coffee cup to a reuseable one but it's just hard to make the switch. Think about what stands in your way of making this a habit. By identifying the challenges, you can begin to work through them to have better success in taking this action. Knowing the difference you are making, how does it make you feel?

Karsen Buck 10/03/2018 3:16 PM

Sometimes I will be going to class and I need coffee but I have forgotten my reusable cup. Therefore I have committed to myself that if I do not have it then looks like you will not be enjoying some coffee. That is the rule. This makes me feel good because I have developed a determination that I hope continues into broader aspects in my near future.

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Reflection Question
Waste Use Reusable Bags

What do you do if you find yourself in the situation of needing a bag for items but don't have a reuseable one with you? Carry things out in your hands? In a cart? Accept a disposable one? If you find yourself in this position often, what system could you put in place to try to establish this a successful habit?

Karsen Buck 10/03/2018 3:13 PM

I will carry all my items and I have gotten very good at this. I always have bags in my car so I know the trip cannot be too hard. I also will sometimes tell stores they do not need to bag stuff and I have gotten funny reactions but I really do not need any more plastic surrounding me. I try to always remember a bag or keep them in convenient places when I may need one. I think this is a useful strategy.

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Reflection Question
Waste Choose Two-Sided Printing

Choosing two-sided printing can be an easy adjustment on your computer settings. How can you help others make this same switch? Can it be encouraged company wide?

Karsen Buck 10/03/2018 12:20 PM

It is a super easy adjustment and to be honest it should already be set to that setting when purchasing your computer. I can help others make this switch when I see people printing I will ask them why they did or did not print this way. This will help others hear our conversation and hopefully have a realization moment for why we need to reuse everything we possibly can. The idea of cradle to cradle is super powerful because once things hit the landfill their lifecycle has unfortunately ended.

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