

Emily Tonkin
Points Total
- 0 Today
- 0 This Week
- 555 Total
Participant Impact
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up to22pounds of CO2have been saved
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up to5minutesspent learning
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up to14pieces of litterpicked up
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up to1poundswaste avoided
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up to12zero-waste mealsconsumed
Emily's Actions
Community
Estimate Your Plastic Footprint
I will complete a plastic consumption calculator to learn about my plastic footprint.
At Home
Avoid Harmful Plastics
I will avoid buying toxic plastics, including polyvinyl, polystyrene and polycarbonate (#3,#6 and #7).
Community
Pick Up Plastic Litter
I will pick up 2 piece(s) of plastic litter each day and dispose of it responsibly.
Personal Care
Use Plastic-Free Beauty Packaging
I will use beauty products that come in plastic-free packaging, refillable packaging, or I will make my own.
Food
Cook Meals with Zero Plastic Waste
I will prepare 1 meal(s) at home each day without using any items packaged in single-use plastic.
At Home
Plan a Garden
I will plan an herb or vegetable garden for next year at my home, workplace, or community garden.
At Home
Extend the Life of Electronics
Manufacturers want you to replace your phones every year. I will delay replacing my smart phone for 3 years.
Feed
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Emily Tonkin 2/16/2021 9:23 AMJust prior to the start of this challenge, I started to convert any remaining personal care products to products or methods that avoid single use plastic. Once the challenge began, I committed to converting them all (except toothpaste...that one is really tough for me). My favorite recent finds so far have been Youth to the People skin care, Badger Protect Land & Sea sunscreen in a tin, and Little Seed Farm deodorant cream. Oldies but goodies include moon cups (I've had mine for more than 10 years and acquired it back when there were only a few on the market), bulk shampoo (I know the bulk bottles are still plastic, but the reduction in plastic is a step in the right direction), Bryn Mawr soap (the wrapper is compostable), Badger hair oil, and a safety razor. Would love to try refillable no-plastic products like Plaine Products shampoo, lotion, etc., but I wonder about the impact of personal shipping. It can be overwhelming to realize all the ways in which plastic is everywhere and develop ways to avoid it.-
Jessie Roelofs 2/17/2021 12:14 PMOne option to avoid shipping might be to get bulk shampoo, lotion, etc. in your own containers from the co-op?
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Emily Tonkin 2/10/2021 1:40 PMThe most satisfying plastic-reducing move during this challenge so far is homemade yogurt. My household tried this for the first time over the weekend using milk from a glass jug and a bit of leftover yogurt previously purchased at the store (in the future, we can use leftovers from yogurt we make). It turned out six servings of really tasty yogurt. Now I won't have to purchase yogurt in plastic containers again! -
Reflection QuestionAt Home Avoid Harmful PlasticsDo some research on polystyrene and polyvinyl. How many items in your house already contain these toxins?
Emily Tonkin 2/02/2021 9:31 AMNumerous items in my household contain these compounds. I found it difficult to completely avoid these at the grocery store today. -
Reflection QuestionCommunity Estimate Your Plastic FootprintWhat did you find out about your plastic consumption by using the calculator? What did or didn't surprise you?
Emily Tonkin 1/25/2021 12:03 PMI tried a couple different plastic consumption calculators, and was not hugely surprised by the results. I do not use single-use plastic on a daily basis, but there are a number of areas in which I use single-use plastic on a monthly or twice-monthly basis or multiples times a year (e.g. bags of cat litter, bottles of ibuprofen, take-out containers not from Minneapolis). I don't know about or am resistant to ways to reduce this use. This frustrates me.