Campus Ecochallenge

Ecochallenge.org

Campus Ecochallenge

Erin's points

5 TODAY
10 THIS WEEK
76 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

8.0

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

2.0

people

helped

Erin's actions

Waste

Repair a Broken Item

I will repair at least one item that is broken, but is repairable. This might be items like garden tools, sewing machine, small appliances, electronics, clothing, and more.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Use Reusable Bags when Shopping

If at all possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Enjoy a Meatless Meal

Producing 1 kg of beef emits as much greenhouse gas as driving 150 miles, meanwhile, 1 kg of veggies or grains leaves a much lighter footprint! This week, I’ll shrink my climate impact by having 1 meatless meals and/or 0 vegan meals each day.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Help Others in Need

I will offer to help 2 person(s) who are in need each day.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Energy

Complete an Online Energy Audit

I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Erin Hurh 7/21/2026 9:09 AM

Community

This week I introduced myself to two neighbors I’d never met before at an event held by my apartment complex. I read about how inequality and privatization can erode our sense of social solidarity and it made me realize I’m not really connected with the people around me. I just pass by them. It was really nice to get to know my neighbors, it felt like I was growing my community and made me feel more connected to my roots in Oregon. Alongside this, I was able to help someone who was lost in Portland by being open-minded and less guarded. It felt good to get out of my comfort zone rather than being home all the time.

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Erin Hurh 7/21/2026 12:31 AM

Water

I timed my shower for this challenge. My goal was under 5 mins and also taking a reusable coffee tumbler when I went for coffee instead of using a disposable cup. The plastic reading really made me think about how much waste I produce. Single-use items were so common in my day to day life. The plastic heat wrap on my cucumber or the plastic produce bag my potatoes were in, it made me cringe with embarrassment at how blind I was before. So for this challenge, the reusable tumbler felt like an easy win. However, limiting my shower was hard. I also tried to shower in colder water as well. (Yes, I do shower in hot water during the summer.) It was really difficult to get used to taking a shower in cold water and I kept running over the time limit the first few times. So to improve I put on two songs under the length of 5 minutes so when a song would end I could tell how much time I had left.

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Erin Hurh 7/20/2026 11:46 PM

Food

For food, I decided to plan out my meals. Oftentimes, cooking and grocery shopping feels hectic and chaotic for me. I do have a grocery list that I update with the caveat that I don’t actually plan my meals. I just have a broad and general idea of what I should cook during the week. The list is simply just used to remember things that have run out during the week. So for this challenge, I wanted to plan meals that I would cook during the week. I wanted to be strategic about it and buy ingredients that could be used in more than one meal. The recipes that I planned for were hainanese chicken, marry me chicken pasta, salmon and shrimp. The salmon and shrimp were going to be paired with frozen veggies that I already had in the freezer and rice. When I went to the grocery store with a set plan for groceries during the week, I found it helpful but I found myself drifting towards items I was craving or items that I remember we ran out of that were not on the list. But after this challenge was over, I noticed that I had less food waste because all the food was actually being eaten!

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Erin Hurh 7/20/2026 11:19 PM

Energy

For energy, I decided to do an energy audit of my apartment over the last week. I unplugged chargers and appliances that I wasn’t using, turned off the tv when I wasn’t watching, switched to cold water for laundry, and limited my ac usage. It was actually pretty easy to be mindful about most of these things. However, what I struggled with was having too many things plugged in. From phone chargers, home appliances, and technology, everything was on. It was an easy fix though, all I had to do was switch it to off or unplug it. Something that made it even more accessible was connecting to a power strip that turns off all items in an area. With the weather getting hotter throughout the day, I tried to only turn on the AC at the most unbearable moments and for only 30 mins. I noticed this was actually a pretty good strategy because it would cool me down enough to not have to use it again until late at night.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

What do you do if you find yourself in the situation of needing a bag for items but don't have a reusable one with you or aren't allowed to use the one you brought? Carry things out in your hands? In a cart? Accept a disposable one? If you find yourself in this position often, what system could you put in place to try to create a successful habit of not using plastic bags?
Erin Hurh 7/16/2026 12:14 AM

During this waste challenge, I found myself being more intentional about going to the grocery store. Usually when I know that I’m going to the grocery store, I will bring my reusable grocery bag. However, there are instances where I have spontaneous grocery shopping trips where I have no reusable bags with me. In those moments, I would either try to carry everything by hand or accept a disposable bag, telling myself I'd reuse it for other store trips I would be making throughout the day. After reflecting on this, I realize that this method of spontaneous grocery shopping is only reinforcing my unsustainable habits. To fix this, I keep a stash of reusable bags in my car so that whenever I do have an unplanned grocery visit, that I’ll always have them in any situation. In addition, buying grocery store bags and having to store them someplace in my home is more inconvenient overall. I find that it saves me more money not having to buy bags and saves me space in my apartment. I also don't have to deal with the guilt of watching unused paper bags pile up in a closet, half-used or completely untouched. Ultimately, this challenge showed me that sustainable habits work best when they don’t depend on memory. You have to make it easier for your future self to make a better sustainable decision and build better habits. By keeping reusable bags in my car, I remove that barrier of "convenience" and "efficiency" that lead me back to using disposable options.

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- Amy Minato 7/16/2026 11:56 AM
  
  setting up systems really helps with some of these habits!
  
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