Neesha Kamble

Human Ecology SBVC

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
552 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

waste audit

conducted
UP TO

1.0

pounds

food waste prevented
UP TO

3.3

pounds of paper

have been saved
UP TO

5.0

zero-waste meals

consumed
UP TO

5.0

pounds

waste composted
UP TO

134

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

18

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

140

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

51

gallons of water

have been saved

Neesha's actions

Waste

Go Paperless

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 0.11lbs (0.05kg) a day or 3.3lbs (1.6kg) a month by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

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

Waste

Carry my Trash

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

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Compost Food Waste

I will avoid sending up to .69 lbs (.31 kg) of food waste to the landfill each day by composting my food or learning how to.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Prevent Recycling Contamination

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 20 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

I will find out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in recycling dumpsters or my curbside bin.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Cheap, single-use items and disposable packaging end up blowing around as litter more often in poor and POC-majority neighborhoods. I will find out how I can limit single-use items and do my best to limit the waste I generate.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

RESEARCH LOCAL WASTE SITES

I will spend 20 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Switch to Cold Water

I will switch to washing my clothes in cold water, saving up to 133 lbs of CO2 a month and 1,600 lbs of CO2 over the course of the next year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Zero-Waste Cooking

I will cook 1 meal(s) with zero-waste each day

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Weekly Meal Planning

I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu, only buying the ingredients I need.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

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?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four in the US spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Does this surprise you? Where would you rather use this money?
Neesha Kamble 11/23/2020 12:22 PM
This is very surprising to me! I would rather use the money to pay off some of my student loans or even to help my family pay off their debt!

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- Ana Dutciuc 11/29/2020 10:38 PM
  I know it is very surprising. Those are perfect alternatives!
  
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- Josiel Perez 11/23/2020 1:06 PM
  Those are good alternatives! That is definitely a surprising statistic. I think that my family has a culture of reusing things. My parents are always trying to turn waste into something else. For example, they turn a glass hot sauce bottle into a container for personal cleaning liquids. They stress the idea of finishing your plate. They have us eat leftovers rather than throwing it out and getting new food. Some people may think this is strange but I like it!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

In North America, up to 65% of food waste happens at the consumer level. Chef Steven Satterfield advocates for using every part of a vegetable. How can you incorporate using an entire vegetable (including the skins, tops, stalks, etc.) during your next meal prep?
Neesha Kamble 11/23/2020 12:21 PM
I recently found a social media post that explained how you can use all of your veggie scraps to make vegetable stock instead of buying it. I am so excited to do this, because I use vegetable stock in so many things that I cook!

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- Parker Taylor 11/29/2020 10:09 PM
  Hi Neesha! What an awesome way to use social media to help come up with ideas about food waste. Good luck on your action!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

Our ability to recycle certain things ebbs and flows based upon many factors, including market demand for recyclables. Luckily there are places that accept uncommon things to recycle or dispose of in a less harmful way. What did you find when looking for places to recycle items that can't be recycled in your curbside bin?
Neesha Kamble 11/18/2020 11:43 PM
I discovered numerous local electronic waste places that occur once or twice a month near my home. I also found a recycling plant very close to me that accepts and separates each level of plastic in order to recycle it properly.

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- Neesha Kamble 11/20/2020 5:10 PM
  Not at all, it was about a 7 minute drive.
  
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- Johnna Richie 11/19/2020 5:00 PM
  That is awesome! Did you have to go far to drop them off?
  
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Neesha Kamble 11/14/2020 5:25 PM
I thing this challenge is going very well for me, it's taught me a lot!

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- Johnna Richie 11/15/2020 1:41 PM
  That is so great that you are doing so well with it! Great job!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

What one thing could you do right away to reduce your waste?
Neesha Kamble 11/14/2020 5:24 PM
Bring my own reusable utensils and glass to go containers when eating out.

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- Johnna Richie 11/15/2020 1:42 PM
  Like those plastic containers for like salads? It has the different compartments for the different toppings? This is a great idea!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

Why is it so difficult to understand the impacts our purchases and waste have on other people, animals, and places? How might your experience with this challenge impact your future consumption and choices?
Neesha Kamble 11/14/2020 5:24 PM
I think it's difficult to understand the impact because we don't see exactly where our trash goes after we throw it away. However, this challenge has helped me become more cognizant of where it goes and how to better dispose of it.

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- Johnna Richie 11/15/2020 1:43 PM
  I absolutely agree that we take a huge "out of sight, out of mind" approach when it comes to seeing the affect we have on the world around us.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What did you substitute or could be substituted instead?
Neesha Kamble 11/14/2020 5:17 PM
I regularly use coffee cups and plastic utensils when ordering food. Now, I make coffee at home and refuse plastic utensils because I'm going to eat the food at home anyways and can use my own silverware.

Read More
- Parker Taylor 11/29/2020 10:10 PM
  Hi Neesha! Its amazing that you now made that switch. Keep up the good work and good luck on your action!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

In what neighborhoods or areas of your region are landfills or other waste sites located? Which communities are most affected by these locations?
Neesha Kamble 11/14/2020 5:16 PM
The landfills are more so located in lower income neighborhoods, such as my own. This affects low income families more than anyone.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

What have you learned about what is accepted by local haulers for recycling, what you can drop off or ship to certain places, and what is not recyclable in your area? What is the most difficult part of recycling for you?
Neesha Kamble 11/09/2020 4:56 PM
For a long time I was recycling things through the mixed recycling that my city has. However, today, I found a place that separately recycles each level of plastic. This was very eye opening to me as I realized that most of what I have recycled in the past was likely thrown into the garbage.

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- Ana Dutciuc 11/13/2020 11:49 PM
  That is amazing! Do you think you can provide me with the name of the place?
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Energy

What do you plan to do with the money you save from making more energy efficient choices?
Neesha Kamble 11/07/2020 10:45 PM
I plan to make more energy efficient choices. This was not a hard switch at all, it makes me wonder why anyone would wash their clothes in hot water?

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- Amanda Barba 11/29/2020 9:58 PM
  Yes!! I am the same way! Honestly the main reason I rarely ever use hot water to wash my clothes is because it would make my clothes shrink. Now the only time I use hot water to wash clothes is when I come home from work and need to wash my scrubs since I have been around so many sick people. Keep up the good work! Hope it helps you save a ton!
  
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- Ana Dutciuc 11/08/2020 10:51 PM
  Some people feel like it helps keep white clothes whiter and it kills "bacteria" but everyone has their own views.
  
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