Civic Engagement Project

Name: Zachary Gonzalez

Section: Environment and Sustainability

Scorecard Item # Number of Points UNSDG Addressed

#16 15 Eliminate
Consumption of
single-use plastic
bottles, bags, straws,
utensils, etc. for 7
continuous days

Supporting Documents:
7-Day Diary:
I started off this goal by reusing a metal water bottle to eliminate my plastic bottle usage around
my house and I did this the whole week. Next, I went to the grocery store three times that week
and I would use tote bags rather than plastic. The number of plastic bags used every time I went
to the grocery store would always be huge, so eliminating those out of my life can save much
unwanted waste. Finally, the last task I did to help me reach this goal was to replace plastic
Tupperware with glass or steel. Doing this, I was able to constantly reuse these containers to
completely eliminate my plastic usage throughout my home.

Reflection:
My reflection of this experience was that it was very informative. I learned that many items we
use in our everyday lives consist of plastic, which in turn just provides so much more waste than
there should actually be. I didn’t realize until I did this assignment how much waste I was
producing from my home, so I’m sure that eliminating plastic out of my life is one step closer to
aiding the environment. I will ensure to myself to stop consumption of single-use plastic
products to keep myself in check outside of this task. The effects that plastic waste has on the
environment are astonishing; many forms of marine life suffocate, eat, and get tangled by it
which leads to many unnatural deaths. Additionally, micro plastics can contaminate human
resources such as food and water and cause many health problems, like inflammation,
genotoxicity, oxidative stress, etc. With this knowledge I have gained about this topic, I will be
sure to spread the word about eliminating plastic waste around my community.
 Scorecard Item # Number of Points UNSDG Addressed
#11 10 Clean up trash in
your neighborhood,
at a public park, or
near the water.

Supporting Documents:
Reflection:
The items that I collected the most in this task were plastic bottles and wrappers around my
neighborhood. I’m not sure who was responsible for the trash, but my guess would be the
careless residents of my neighborhood as a whole. The solutions I propose that I come up with
are having days where I pick up trash around my community for a few hours. I will also spread
the word about properly throwing trash away and inform people about the negative effects of
plastic usage and improperly disposed waste.

Scorecard Item # Number of Points UNSDG Addressed

#6 5 Complete the Miami
water keepers quiz &
read the included
article ‘Best
Management
Practices’
Supporting documents:

Reflection:
After taking this quiz, I was shocked to see how poorly my household deals with not being water
friendly. Following the best management practices article, I found that the most applicable
practices for me were to reduce and reuse waste. For example, instead of using plastic grocery
bags, I switched to reusable totes to eliminate plastic waste. Another practice that I found to be
strong was car washing. I learned that some car soap products are non-biodegradable, and can
end up in waterways, which can contaminate them. I plan to improve on my water usage by
continuing to do these practices and spreading the word as well. Residents can improve water
quality where they live by being informed about the well-being of waterways and our oceans. By
doing this, it causes them to want to keep their water clean to benefit not only themselves but the
environment as well.