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 18
DAILY ACTIONS
Waste
Go Paperless
I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by opting into paperless billing and ending unwanted subscriptions.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Energy
Adjust the Thermostat
I will adjust my thermostat down 2 degrees from usual when I use the heat, and up 2 degrees when I use air conditioning.
COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS
Health
Happiness
I will write down three things every day that I am grateful for, or send one email every day thanking or praising someone.
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 18
DAILY ACTIONS
Waste
Compost Food Waste
I will avoid sending up to .69 lbs (.31 kg) of food waste to the landfill each day by composting my food or learning how to.
COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS
Water
Install a Low-Flow Showerhead
I will save up to 15 gallons (56 L) of water a day by installing a low-flow showerhead.
UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Energy
Replace Manual Thermostats
I will replace manual thermostats with programmable ones.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
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?
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?
Reducing your paper mail can be such a freeing action to take -- by reducing what is coming in, you can reduce what is going into the recycling bin too. How does it make you feel? What is the next step you will take to reduce your waste?
I choose to get email notifications instead of being sent paper statements when offered, but find it difficult to figure out how to stop catalogs and detailed portfolios for investments from being sent.
New to composting? Be sure to check out the action resource links to learn tips and more about it. As you transition from throwing food away to composting, what do you notice about how much you are tossing? Do you know how your compost will be used and the benefits it has on the environment?
It's easy to do here at work because we have bins for food waste. I just wish a few people would stop putting garbage and paper in the ones for food waste.
I wholly agree, Steve! It takes only a few extra seconds to pay closer attention when making efforts to recycle or compost so that you reduce contamination. The secret ingredient is "giving a darn" (so to speak). The rule is, however, "when in doubt, throw it out" because if you have multiple people contaminating recycling streams the whole batch ends up getting thrown out by some recyclers because they don't have the resources to pick through garbage. We've been talking on the Waste Minimization Team about giving a Port-wide talk at lunch about how to be a better recycler/composter at HQ. Do you think that would help?
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?
Nicole Campbell 10/03/2018 7:48 PMI wholly agree, Steve! It takes only a few extra seconds to pay closer attention when making efforts to recycle or compost so that you reduce contamination. The secret ingredient is "giving a darn" (so to speak). The rule is, however, "when in doubt, throw it out" because if you have multiple people contaminating recycling streams the whole batch ends up getting thrown out by some recyclers because they don't have the resources to pick through garbage. We've been talking on the Waste Minimization Team about giving a Port-wide talk at lunch about how to be a better recycler/composter at HQ. Do you think that would help?