I will plan ahead to only use paper products made from post-consumer recycled paper for my home or office.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use
Reduce Animal Products
Plant-Rich Diets
I will enjoy 2 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.
COMPLETED 21
DAILY ACTIONS
Industry
Recycle Everything I Can
Recycling
Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will research and recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community, making sure to not contaminate recyclables with non-recyclables.
I completed my one-time challenge by researching stores that sell recycled paper. For several months, I have been buying recycled copy paper from Staples. The paper I buy from Staples is made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper. The notebook and pack of paper that I posted a picture of in my reflection question actually came from a discount store where I got them for 30¢ each. I bought several packs and notebooks for myself and my sisters so we should not be buying paper for a while. This particular paper is made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper. My family is not huge paper consumers, but I would like to introduce my boyfriend and his family to these new recycled paper options, as well as other family and friends to maximize the use of recycled paper. One trick that I have used for years to recycle copy paper because I am cheap is that if I print something for personal use, that will not be used for official purposes, I will flip the sheet to the blank side and put it back in the printer to be used again later. I actually like this method because I know that I myself am recycling my own copy paper, but when I buy a new pack of recycled copy paper, I have no guarantee that paper is actually 100% recycled paper.
Since I will be graduating soon, my paper use will likely go down. Because I won't need paper as often, I will make sure I am only using recycled paper and I will encourage others in my family and at my workplace to use recycled paper.
Today I also finished my 21-day recycle everything I can challenge. It went well. Over the course of the challenge, I recycled 5 grocery bags of plastic bottles for my family and my boyfriend's family. The plastic bottle usage in my family is pretty upsetting for me, so I'm researching glass alternatives for cleaners and no plastic shampoos and things like that. I saved some of our water bottles to make eco-bricks. I have been working on one throughout the challenge and it is still not finished! It is incredible the amount of plastic the bottle can hold and still not be full! So far I've added 2 plastic bags, straws, 3 styrofoam cups, and several chip bags and there is still room. It makes me feel good to know that if I can finish the eco-brick, all of that plastic will have a purpose.
Today was the last day of my reducing meat consumption challenge. Because I didn't really change my diet that much for the challenge, there won't be a dramatic change in my meat consumption after the 21-day challenge. I did not really realize that eating 2 meatless meals a day would not be a challenge for me, I didn't consider that I mostly eat meat once a day anyway. So, if I were to repeat this challenge I think I would go completely meatless for 21-days and I think that would increase the challenge level. Also, I wish I had taken the opportunity to focus on eating healthier meatless options because eating cheese pizza works for this challenge but it doesn't exactly improve my health!
How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle? How does considering implementing these "R's" make you feel?
Throughout this challenge, I really focused on recycling, but I have begun to think a lot about reduction and repurposing and repair. I need to work on the refusal of single-use plastic because I am often self-conscious and introverted so even the extra interaction of telling a cashier I don't want a plastic bag seems overwhelming at times, but it is definitely something I am working on. I would have loved to get to use my reusable cups and bottles on campus this semester and it would have been great for this challenge, but restaurants on campus aren't allowing the use of reusable cups because of the pandemic. Being conscious of your consumption can be overwhelming at times just because we consume so much, but it is worth the struggle because being aware of our waste is the only way we can reduce it.
Why do people in richer countries eat more meat than people in other places? How does eating more meat affect our bodies, our planet, and other people?
There is a lot of time and energy that goes into meat production which creates a high cost for the final product. People in poorer countries cannot always afford the higher cost of meat. I learned in a different class that eating high quantities of meat has changed the physiological composition of our stomachs and intestines. Meat production requires a lot of resources and is contributing to the resource crisis that we are facing today.
My meatless challenge is also going well. It's not as exciting as my recycling one because I really haven't changed that much in my diet. I am in no way vegetarian or vegan, but my sister is vegetarian and my boyfriend is allergic to eggs and other things so I just end up around a lot of meatless/vegan options. I live off of bread and pasta which is not healthy at all, but definitely contributes to my success during the challenge. There was one day where I ate 2 meals with meat in one day accidentally because I didn't think about it, but the next day I didn't eat any meat so I hope that it cancels out and I am forgiven for that!
This post is referring to my recycling challenge. I've been doing it for almost 2 weeks now, even though I've only checked in 6 times (oops). I've been recycling plastic bottles my boyfriend and family have been using. I've also been researching ecobricks and I saved one of our recyclable bottles to try to make one. I cut up several plastic bags and styrofoam items I was going to recycle and shoved them in the bottle. I almost filled it up in the first go which is crazy because they should normally take a long time to fill. It took so long because you have to wash your trash and dry it before cutting it, and it's also really hard to get it in the bottle. I am definitely not used to spending so much time with my trash, but I think that is a good thing because I'm already starting to think twice about using plastic. I like the ecobricks because its not super restrictive you can use any plastics hard or soft, so I was using straws, chip bags, grocery bags, tape from packaging and styrofoam. If I can figure out how to safely cut up plastic utensils without stabbing myself, I want to do that too.
I also began keeping track of my recycling. My boyfriend is a water bottle-holic. He uses a lot of powdered drink add-in and says that it just doesn't work right when he uses a reusable bottle. So in an attempt to cancel out his plastic water bottle use, I got him recycling bin and I have started taking his water bottles to a recycling center when I go to work.
So far my challenge of eating less meat for 21 days, is going well. I am just starting, but I do not think it will be a huge change for me. My sister is a vegetarian so we eat a lot of meatless meals, and there are always meat substitutes laying around my house.
