I will commute by carpool 10 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 5.65 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.
COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS
Materials
Recycle Everything I Can
#55 Household Recycling
I will recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community.
COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS
Food
Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates
#3 Reduced Food Waste
I will spend at least 10 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Food
Smaller Portions
#3 Reduced Food Waste
I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.
COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS
Food
Keep Track of Wasted Food
#3 Reduced Food Waste
I will keep a daily log of food I throw away during the EcoChallenge, either because it went bad before I ate it, I put too much on my plate, or it was scraps from food preparation.
COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS
Transport
Use Muscle Power
#49 Cars
I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips, and I will only use muscle-powered transportation for all other trips.
List some of the places you frequent often (work, grocery store, natural areas). Could you choose one or two days a week to schedule driving with a friend, neighbor or co-worker to these places?
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?
I love implementing all "R's." I still have a lot of work to do before achieve living a zero-waste lifestyle. But I know it truly simplifies and declutters your life! Easy things like reusing Urban Outfitter bags as tote for groceries, and refusing paper receipts and opting for emailed ones.
Fun fact: Your brain and stomach register feelings of fullness after about 20 minutes of eating. While dishing food out, we tend to load our plates with more than we need. Using smaller plates helps to mitigate this. Aside from the environmental benefits, what other benefits might come out of eating smaller portions?
An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Where would you rather use this money?
Knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by empowers me to make better decisions since now I can help reduce food waste by understanding the label and keeping the food item that will perish in front of fridge and the ones that won't further back.
