Hennepin County

Hennepin County Zero Waste Challenge

May 17 - June 27, 2020

Madeline Hergott

Points Total

0 Today
0 This Week
124 Total

Participant Impact

up to

6

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
up to

6

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill
up to

37

pounds

waste composted

Madeline's Actions

Community

Watch a Documentary

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

Uncompleted
One-Time Action

Personal Care

Reduce Makeup Use

I will simplify my cosmetic routine or reduce my use of cosmetics.

Completed
One-Time Action

On-the-go

Skip the Straw

I will keep 3 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill per day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

On-the-go

Use Reusable Water Bottles

I will use a reusable bottle and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 3 disposable plastic bottle(s) a day.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Belongings

Needs vs. Wants

I will adopt a "Needs vs. Wants" approach and only buy things I need.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Plant a Garden

I will plant an herb or vegetable garden at my home or community garden.

Completed
One-Time Action

At Home

De-Clutter My Home

I will de-clutter, clean, and donate or recycle unneeded items in my home.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

At Home

Start Backyard Composting

My household will set up a backyard bin to compost our fruit and vegetable scraps.

Completed
One-Time Action

Feed

Reflection Question
On-the-go Skip the Straw

Have you noticed a shift in your community as more messaging about reusable straws becomes mainstream? Cite some examples.

Madeline Hergott 8/12/2020 12:27 PM

After the "VSCO girl" aesthetic become widespread and very popular, so did using reusable straws and/or water bottles. From there, many sustainable options for common household and personal care products have made their way into many people's homes. This includes but is not limited to: toothpaste tablets, bar shampoo/conditioner, bamboo toothbrushes, reusable ziplock bags, and much more. It is exciting to see such creative alternatives pop up every day.

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Reflection Question
At Home Start Backyard Composting

How is your backyard composting going? Have you run into any challenges or learned any lessons?

Madeline Hergott 8/12/2020 12:21 PM

Upkeep with our compost has been very easy, almost every day we add food scraps to the pile in our backyard. It is not very official in that it does not have any walls, but the worms seem to love it! One challenge that will present itself in the colder months is the lack of decomposition that will happen, but it will continue to thrive until then.

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