Jen McCutchen

Team Green

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
91 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

plastic footprint

calculated

Jen's actions

First Steps: Start with You

Estimate My Plastic Consumption

Understanding my plastic footprint is a powerful first step toward making change. I will complete a short online plastic calculator, like the one from rePurpose Global, to estimate my annual plastic use and explore ways to reduce it.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Jen McCutchen 7/02/2025 3:57 PM
As I wrap up my work week for a long holiday weekend, I've been thinking about how to celebrate the day minimizing my plastic use. I've been thoughtful about the products I purchased to prepare my 4th of July meal and avoided pre-packaged produce and opted for individual pieces to reduce plastic wrap and bags. I purchased fish wrapped in paper from the counter rather than plastic shrink-wrapped options, and went for drinks in recyclable aluminum and avoid single-use plastic bottles. So, hopefully I'm creating some plastic independence this 4th!

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- Emily Henderson 7/09/2025 1:33 PM
  Excellent work! I need to focus on getting butcher wrapped meats to cut out plastic and Styrofoam packaging. I also realized this past holiday weekend how many fireworks are wrapped in multiple layers of plastic packaging. Was not able to avoid this year as they were purchased by person who hosted bbq but it did make me take a look online and there are companies trying to focus on using cardboard only and biodegradable components. Will make a point of bringing this up to family and friends for next year or opting to go see a city display or a drone show instead.
  
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- Mary Hanks 7/02/2025 8:07 PM
  - TEAM CAPTAIN
  Good for you, Jen! thank you for planning your meal so sustainably! I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
First Steps: Start with You

Did your estimated plastic footprint surprise you? How does it compare to the global average? After estimating your annual use, how did it feel to put a number on it? Did it inspire a sense of urgency, or something else?
Jen McCutchen 7/01/2025 12:05 PM
My initial "today" estimate came it at 3126 pieces of plastic used per year, which is a hard number to see. I think I make sustainable choices in many situations, but I can clearly do better. My realistic reduction number came to 1521, which is a 1605 piece reduction. I think this is totally doable by limiting little things like cotton swabs, straws, and buying refillable cleaning items rather than new bottles each time.
I currently use my own shopping bags, limit single-use plastic bottles, limit use of sandwich bags and plastic cling wrap, but it's still interesting (and concerning) to see my use calculated. A good motivator to be more mindful on my purchase choices.

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