"I will do my part to live sustainably, reduce my carbon footprint, and protect the environment!"
POINTS TOTAL
0
TODAY
0
THIS WEEK
793
TOTAL
participant impact
UP TO
576
gallons of water
have been saved
UP TO
52
pieces of plastic cutlery
not sent to the landfill
UP TO
131
pounds of CO2
have been saved
UP TO
2.0
lightbulbs
replaced
UP TO
1.0
healthcare connection
made
UP TO
30
minutes spent
learning
UP TO
2.0
greener purchases
made
Bethany's actions
At Work
Work From Home
I will work from home 1 day(s) to avoid my commute's carbon output.
UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
At Home
Learn the Truth about Expiration Dates
I will spend at least 10 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
One Healthcare
Environmental Footprint of Healthcare
I will spend 10 minutes learning about the environmental footprint of the healthcare industry, how it impacts health, and ways I can help reduce it.
UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
At Work
Prevent Recycling Contamination
Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 10 minutes learning about which items are recyclable both at my workplace and at home since they may be different, and recycle only those items.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
One Healthcare
Sustainable Healthcare
I will attend or watch a recording of a webinar 30 minutes long covering one or more healthcare sustainability issues.
UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
At Home
Switch to Cold Water
I will switch to washing my clothes in cold water, saving up to 1,600 lbs of CO2 over the course of the next year.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
At Work
Greener Purchasing
I will select a greener option when purchasing supplies, such as products that have environmental certifications, less packaging, or other environmental attributes, or come from local vendors.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
At Home
Repair an Item
I will repair an item, such as clothing or an appliance, for myself, a friend, family member, or neighbor.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
At Work
Stay Connected
I will schedule coffee breaks, lunches, and/or check-in meetings with 3 coworkers to promote connectivity in my workplace.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
At Home
Needs Vs. Wants
I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach and only buy things I need.
COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS
At Home
Shorter Showers
I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers.
COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS
At Home
Brush My Teeth Without Water Running
I will save up to 4 gallons (15 L) of water each day by turning it off while brushing my teeth.
COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS
At Work
Last to Leave? Lights Out, Please!
Lighting makes up approximately 10% of hospitals' energy use on average. I will save energy by turning off unnecessary lights when not in use and when I am the last one to leave a space.
COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS
At Work
Use Reusables at Work
I will keep 10 forks, spoons, and/or knives from entering the landfill by using reusable utensils when eating at work.
COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS
At Home
Practice the 5 r's
I will Practice the "5 Rs" — refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle — to reduce my waste more than I can with just recycling alone.
COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS
At Home
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
ONE-TIME ACTION
At Home
Choose LED Bulbs
I will replace 4 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
In Our Communities
Support Pollution Reduction
I will spend at least 10 minutes learning about water and air quality issues in my area, how they are impacting human and environmental health, and how I can help.
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?
It has been so much fun learning more about sustainability!! I am wondering, there were a few one-time actions that I haven't had time to finish yet, does anyone know if the educational resources will still be available after the challenge ends?
To reduce waste of clothing, I am going to commit to shoping secondhand stores more often. I feel I already do a good job of donating clothes when I no longer use them. The last donation I made was 3 bags of clothes and household items to the Epilepsy Foundation. They came right to my house and did a no-contact pickup from the curb--so easy!!
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?
While one's plastic cutlery is a seemingly very small part of someone's "plastic impact", why do you think it's important for us to address this opportunity to reduce?
I think it is important to reduce or eliminate the use of plastic cutlery because single use plastic takes billions of years to break down, has a high carbon footprint, is a huge pollutant in waterways, endangers wildlife, and it is harmful to the health of humans. I rarely see people recycling plastic cutlery. When I bring my meals from home. I always bring my own utensils! It would be great if we had access to reuseable silverware at work again.
What a shame that it isn't recyclable! will be bringing a few extra sets of actual silverware to leave in my desk-just in case I forget to include them when I pack my lunch bag.
I might be wrong, but I think in many places, plastic cutlery isn't recyclable depending on the quality/kind of plastic and the recycling facilities in the area. Great to bring your own no matter what :)
When I was young, my dad would always get after my sisters and I if we left the lights on as we were leaving a room. As an adult, its now a pet peeve of mine when I find that someone leaves the lights on!
One way I help others to remember this at work-at the end of meetings, I always be sure to reset the room so it is ready for whomever will use it next-that includes turning the lights out. By role modeling this routine, I have noticed others help to reset and turn out the lights too!
I live in an area where I have easy access to clean water. I try to limit my water usage to only turning it on when it is needed. When I overfill a cup or pot when in the kitchen, instead of pouring the overfill down the drain, I pour it into my pets water bowl or into a houseplant. I am diligent about only doing a load of laundry when I can fill it all the way. There are many other ways to conserve water. What ideas do you have that I might adapt?!
Creativity is needed when practicing living simply as you are reimagining non-traditional uses for single use objects. For example, the plastic take-out containers from my favorite Thai restaurant with a few holes poked in the bottom make excellent starter pots for plants :-)
I think the easiest way to help manage my impact is to reduce what I buy-only getting essentials and being mindful of what waste my purchases will cause. By no means am I an expert, but I am trying! I love this quote: "We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly."
And when you think about it, the more we refuse to buy what we need, the less we will have to intentionally recycle. Hopefully it makes it easier in the long run!
Name some of the human activities impacting the health of water systems, both locally (your watershed) and globally (freshwater and oceans). What can you do to improve the health of water systems?
I recognize that I shower daily, even when I do not need to. I could save so much water if I change my personal hygiene habits to be more ecofriendly. I am making a commitment to not taking a full shower every day.
