Ecochallenge.org

Beyond Plastic Ecochallenge 2025

July 1 - July 31, 2025

Richard Wheeler

South Carolina Aquarium

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
575 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

7.0

plastic items

avoided
UP TO

2.0

low-plastic meals

consumed
UP TO

1.0

community event

hosted or attended
UP TO

7.0

advocacy actions

completed
UP TO

31

ideas

shared
UP TO

33

individuals

recognized for sustainability
UP TO

795

minutes

spent learning

Richard's actions

Level Up: Influence Friends and Family

Celebrate someone else’s plastic-free effort

Positive reinforcement goes a long way in fostering sustainable change. I will celebrate someone’s effort to reduce plastic — whether big or small — by acknowledging their success in the feed or on social media and encouraging them to keep going.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

First Steps: Start with You

Put reusables where I'll remember them

Reusables only help if we use them! I will set up a system that helps me remember my reusable bags, bottles, containers, or utensils — whether that means keeping them by the door, in my car, or in my bag.

COMPLETED 14
DAILY ACTIONS

Level Up: Influence Friends and Family

Host or attend a clothing swap

Fast fashion is a major source of plastic pollution. I will organize a clothing swap with friends, neighbors, or coworkers to keep clothes in use longer, reduce plastic-based textiles, and build community.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

First Steps: Start with You

Choose secondhand or a recycled product for my next purchase

Buying recycled or secondhand products helps close the loop and reduces demand for new plastic. I will look for and purchase a product made from recycled materials or choose a secondhand option the next time I shop to keep valuable resources in use longer.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

First Steps: Start with You

Explore plastic’s impact on communities

Plastic pollution doesn’t affect everyone equally. I will spend 30 minutes learning how plastic production, use, and disposal harm communities — especially those near waste sites.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

First Steps: Start with You

Discover the difference between bioplastics, compostable plastics, and recyclable plastics

Not all “eco-friendly” plastics are created equal. I will spend 30 minutes exploring the differences between bioplastics, compostable plastics, and recyclable plastics—and what happens to each at the end of its life.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Level Up: Influence Friends and Family

Prepare a low-plastic meal with a friend or family member

Reducing plastic can be easier — and more fun — when shared. I will plan and prepare a meal with friends or family that minimizes single-use packaging and plastic waste.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Level Up: Influence Friends and Family

Pack a low or no-plastic lunch and talk about it with others

Food packaging is a major source of plastic. I will pack a lunch with little or no plastic and use it as a conversation starter with coworkers, classmates, or friends to share tips and inspire change.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Level Up: Influence Friends and Family

Swap ideas for reducing plastic with someone close to you

Sharing ideas helps us stay motivated and discover new ways to take action. I will share ideas with friends or family members about ways we each reduce plastic in our lives.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Lead the Way: Shape Your Community

Promote plastic awareness during an event or meeting

Events are powerful moments to inspire change. I will include a brief message, resource, or tip about reducing plastic at a meeting, celebration, or community gathering I attend or help organize.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Share My Why

Take the Beyond Plastic Ecochallenge Feedback Survey

I will take a short survey about my experience to help the Ecochallenge team improve future events, earn a chance to win a prize, and earn 15 points!

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Share My Why

I will share my Ecochallenge story and why I'm taking action for the planet — and earn 15 points!

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Lead the Way: Shape Your Community

Create or distribute a guide to reducing plastic in my community, organization, or a group

Clear, accessible information makes it easier for others to take action. I will create or share a simple guide with tips, resources, or local options to help people in my community, organization, or group reduce plastic use.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Richard Wheeler 7/24/2025 1:47 PM
Since we are in our last week of the eco challenge, I wanted to take some time to reflect on this month and how much I learned (which was A LOT!).

Firstly, I think we have a great Conservation Team here at the South Carolina Aquarium, led by Dr. Sara McDonald! In my humble opinion, I don't know if they get enough credit or spotlight like I think they deserve. Although, my work schedule and adulting has kept me from participating in litter sweeps, I still pass the word along to guests, especially members since they'll be frequent visitors.

Next, I wanted to acknowledge my Manager, Patty Shuman Robleto, for always making sure the eco challenge was at the forefront of the Guest Services Team's mind. She got me engaged with the eco challenge, then the rest of my work just happened naturally, so thanks to her for getting me started! I didn't accumulate as many points as my colleagues, however, it felt great to have a personal project to focus on; I almost feel like an expert on plastic hazards with all the reading and writing I've done. I plan on continuing my plastic-free journey, it's been too much fun to drop the habit. Maybe I'll start a blog [insert thinking emoji]. I look forward to the rest of this week and next year's eco challenge!

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- Linda Rowe 7/27/2025 2:54 PM
  - TEAM CAPTAIN
  - Eco-Conscious Consumer 🛍
  Loved reading all your posts, Rich! So glad to hear you've enjoyed the month and learned so much.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Lead the Way: Shape Your Community

How did you decide what to include in your guide, and what feedback did you get from others? Share your guide in the feed if you feel comfortable doing so!
Richard Wheeler 7/23/2025 6:36 AM
When I began my personal project of presenting plastic facts and alternatives in my morning meeting, in effect, I shared a handful of mini guides to my colleagues. I felt it would reach an audience better if not only did I present a plastic fact, but also a solution to the problem that fact presented. The topics I've covered were:

1) Microplastics in the laundry and how to reduce it
2) Environmental justice and how plastic plays role in it, and what we can do about it
3) Clothing swaps and its benefits towards reducing plastic
4) Refill stations and how to find them
5) How to prepare a plastic-free meal

I feel like I can condense these into a guide and make a booklet for colleagues and, if I can get approval from management, provide these for guests to take at the information desk. Even if I can't make them for work, I can still make them to give out to anyone interested in living a plastic-free lifestyle.

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Richard Wheeler 7/22/2025 11:10 AM
One of my co-workers brought up a good point to me; how does one try to prepare a plastic-free meal when you have a large family? That led me to research plastic-free meals for my next morning briefing presentation. I must say, I love that for each action item on the Beyond Plastic Ecochallenge page, there are sources that support the plastic-free suggestions. So I took a deep dive into plastic packaging and was astonished at the figures I saw.

As noted in one of the sources, 1 in 10 plastic items get recycled; the other 9 end up in the environment (Geyer, et.al., 2018). This is alarming, especially for our long-term well-being. Then I learned about the types of plastic there are and which ones are recyclable. Unfortunately, out of the 7 types of plastics, only 2 are readily recyclable (PlasticsForChange.org, 2021). But I also found some encouraging news among the depressing data; the blog, Simply Living Green with Rebekah, gave some great advice on how to begin a plastic-free journey and to give ourselves grace.

Before I knew it, a few hours had passed, but I was still engaged with the sources of information and data. I created my presentation and had something to present to my co-worker who brought up the initial question of how to prepare a plastic-free meal with a big family. Overall, this ecochallenge has been the most fun for me, ironically, because of all the research I've done. I say ironically, because when I was in school I couldn't stand research papers, but here I am now, writing short papers and making presentations :-)

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Richard Wheeler 7/22/2025 10:54 AM
Upon learning about the myriad of plastic-free food storage options, I let the Guest Services team know about them. In particular, I plan on buying some Bee's Wrap wrapping paper and glass Tupperware when I get extra funds.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Level Up: Influence Friends and Family

How did planning and preparing the meal together affect the conversation about plastic? Did it inspire any new habits?
Richard Wheeler 7/22/2025 10:52 AM
I didn't plan with anyone, but I did learn a lot about plastic. It wasn't apparent to me how much plastic I was using to make a meal. A sandwich for instance; the plastic bag the bread comes in, the plastic container and plastic wrap lunchmeat are in, the plastic cheese wrapper and packaging. Alone, that is 5 plastic things used (and will be used repeatedly) to make a sandwich.

I decided to try to see if I could make a plastic-free sandwich. Budget wasn't allowing me to make a truly plastic-free sandwich, however, I did make some leeway on reducing the plastic I used. The bread was probably the only thing I was able to buy without using plastic. I went to a local bakery outlet to get a loaf of bread that they wrap in paper. Instead of buying the regular Kraft American cheese that comes in the individual wrappers, I opted for Sargento cheese that comes in one plastic package. I bought lunchmeat in bulk at BJ's which is wrapped in paper, but does come in a plastic bag.

Overall, I think it was a good start, although I had to buy some things that had plastic packaging. Affordability is the one take-away I have from my experiment. Over the long run, I'm sure the reusable wraps that Bee's Wrap sells and glass Tupperware will pay off. Extra funds just aren't present for me at the moment. But I at least came away being mindful of the foods I consume and I learned about a lot of eco-friendly, reusable food storage options.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
First Steps: Start with You

How did you decide what to buy — and what factors mattered most in making that decision?
Richard Wheeler 7/18/2025 11:54 AM
I switched from a plastic toothbrush and toothpaste in a tube to a bamboo toothbrush and toothpaste tablets that come in a tin can (like Altoid mints). For me, I was looking to get started on participating in the Ecochallenge, but couldn't settle on how to start. When I read an article about bamboo toothbrushes being more eco-friendly, I decided to give it a try. To further my efforts, I included switching out my tubed toothpaste with tablets. Overall, I feel great about my decision. Honestly, I did not think the tablets would have been as effective as regular toothpaste, but it turned out that it was just as good; plus, it was more measurable than regular toothpaste (I know how many brushes I can do until I need to buy some more).

There's a comparative study that measures the effectiveness between regular toothbrushes, bamboo toothbrushes, and neem toothbrushes. The results yielded that bamboo was just as good, and in some cases, better than regular toothbrushes at plaque removal (Ranwa, S., et. al., 2025). The study did indicate that more studies would need to be done to substantiate the results, but knowing that a study was done and the results were in favor of bamboo toothbrushes was encouraging enough. I hope more studies will be done, so that more evidence can be used to inform people to consider switching their toothbrushes.

Reference

Ranwa S, Manohar B, Patel R, et al. A Comparative Study on the Efficacy of Plaque Removal Using Conventional Toothbrushes, Bamboo Toothbrushes, and Neem Toothbrushes among School-going Children. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2025;18(4):420–424.

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- Kerry Keck 7/18/2025 4:20 PM
  I'm always impressed when someone cites their source!
  
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Richard Wheeler 7/17/2025 9:29 AM
I've finally gotten the hang of balancing my daily work with my personal project, Beyond Plastics Minute presentations. As a Supervisor in Guest Services at the South Carolina Aquarium, my daily work can be a lot, especially since we are in peak season. But when we started the Ecochallenge for this year, I wanted to get a little more involved. Which is how the idea to do a short presentation about reducing plastic use in our morning meetings came about, which I titled Beyond Plastics Minute. Each presentation is a fact about plastic use and a solution I had the lofty goal of doing a presentation everyday (not a good idea lol), but now I've settled on doing it at least 2-3 times a week. I'm still getting the message out, and it is frequent enough for people to remain engaged with the Ecochallenge.

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- Sara McDonald 7/17/2025 2:11 PM
  Way to go, Rich! You're such a rock star!
  
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Richard Wheeler 7/15/2025 8:40 AM
Consistency has been a challenge, but I think that's because I've been so engulfed in the enormous amount of articles and scholarly papers about plastic pollution. My personal project at my job is to do what's called a "Beyond Plastics Minute" where I give facts and data about plastic use and offer solutions to encourage participation in the challenge and beyond. Ironically, I'm having fun researching and writing now than when I was in college lol! I just hope my efforts reaches someone that will feel empowered to make a change.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Lead the Way: Shape Your Community

What’s something you said or heard that you think might stick with people after the event? Did your information spark any interesting conversations or questions?
Richard Wheeler 7/12/2025 3:30 PM
What will stick with my colleagues after my plastic presentations are the many ways plastic can negatively affect our health. When I was preparing my first presentation, I was shocked to learn that microplastics can come out in the laundry and into our watershed. The second presentation I did was about environmental justice. The city we live in, Charleston, SC, is a prime example of how pollution, in particular, plastic pollution, can shape a city. There are noticeable food deserts in lower-income areas; flooding there as well; dealing with the by-products of living by factories. I hope that environmental justice stays at the forefront of my colleagues minds, and everyone they share with, because I feel like no one should have to live in pollution.

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- Sara McDonald 7/14/2025 6:06 AM
  Way to go, Rich! I'm so proud of you for doing these presentations!!
  
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Richard Wheeler 7/12/2025 6:21 AM
I wanted to challenge myself to be mindful of how much plastic I use and reduce it. It's been helping me to get off auto-pilot and really pay attention, which has been helping my mental health as well.

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