Choices for Sustainable Living Discussion Course

Nathan Kubeczko

"To reduce waste in my own life by buying local, buying less items with plastic, and working toward a zero waste lifestyle."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
391 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

7.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

7.0

organic meals

consumed
UP TO

7.0

whole food meals

consumed
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

1.0

petition

signed
UP TO

70

minutes

spent outdoors

Nathan's actions

Water

Watch The Story of Bottled Water

I will watch The Story of Bottled Water to learn more about bottled water's impacts on the environment.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Consumption and Economy

Personal Waste Audit

I will collect all of my unrecyclable, non-compostable trash to raise my awareness of how much I send to the landfill.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Visions of Sustainability

Support a Sharing Economy

I will create or support a sharing economy with family, friends, and neighbors.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Join my Neighborhood Association

I will join my neighborhood association or another local group.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Say No to Plastic

Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our waterways. This week, I'll say "no" to plastic bags at the store and plastic straws in all of my drinks.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Zero-Waste Cooking

I will cook 1 meal(s) with zero waste each day this week.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Whole Foods Diet

I will enjoy 1 meal(s) free of processed foods each day this week.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 1 meatless meal(s) and/or 0 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Choose Organic Ingredients

I will enjoy 1 meal(s) cooked with organic ingredients each day this week.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

A Call to Sustainability

Explore My Area

I will explore at least one new hiking trail or nature walk in my area.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

A Call to Sustainability

Sign a Petition

I will sign petitions in support of an environmental or social initiative in my state.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

A Call to Sustainability

Watch a Documentary

I will watch a movie about a sustainability issue I would like to know more about.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Ecological Principles

Recycle Everything I Can

I will recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community this week.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Ecological Principles

Practice Gratitude for Earth

This week, I will spend 10 minute(s) each day outside, practicing gratitude (prayer, meditation, journaling, etc.) for Earth and the nature surrounding me.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Consumption and Economy

Watch a Documentary

I will watch one of the films suggested in the additional resources and discuss it with friends or family.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Consumption and Economy

Support Local Businesses

I will buy from local businesses instead of shopping online.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Consumption and Economy

Support a Sharing Economy

I will create or support a sharing economy with family, friends, and neighbors.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Consumption and Economy

Buy Only What I Need

I will not buy anything except items required for health and safety.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Watch a Documentary

I will watch a documentary film about food with family and friends and talk about what we learned.

UNCOMPLETED
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?

Nathan Kubeczko 1/28/2021 9:20 AM

There are some really good Facebook groups you can join to help you live more environmentally friendly and two that I am a part of are Zero Waste PDX and a group called "Buy Nothing." The Zero Waste group is one group for the Portland area where people share articles, tips and tricks, ask questions, and overall build a sense of community around the idea of being zero waste. The other group, Buy Nothing, is based on where you live. It's an international group, spanning all across the U.S. and on into Europe. You join a group based on the community you're in. The whole point of the group is to list items for free that other members in your community come to pick up. It's a really fun group, and they all have moderators that set the rules and guidelines for how things operate. It's a much better alternative to Goodwill in terms of getting rid of items from around your home.

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- Samantha Hage 1/30/2021 4:29 PM
  
  I just joined my local buy nothing group! Not many posts yet, but hopefully I can give/ find something cool soon!
  
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Nathan Kubeczko 1/13/2021 7:30 PM

So about a year ago(ish) my wife and I started a journey together to be zero-waste. We've had a lot of friends criticize this because: "it's impossible to be zero-waste!" While true, that wasn't the point. Our goal was to significantly cut back on waste by taking big steps to minimize it in our lives. We started doing things like composting, buying more whole foods, saying no to plastic bags and items with plastic packaging, buying second hand, and finding local places that accept the things that aren't accepted via curbside recycling. On a good month when we're really being focused, we can go the full 30 days without needing to empty our trash which feels really good. Obviously there's much more to be done and we're always learning about better ways to be zero-waste, but that's just part of the journey! :)

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