Susanna Lakely

Normandale Environmental Chemistry

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
136 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

0.1

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

4.0

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

130

minutes

spent learning

Susanna's actions

Plastics 101

Know the Numbers

The numbers #1-7 on plastics tell us a lot and can help us be better recyclers. I will learn more about what the symbols on plastics mean.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

On-the-go

Skip the Straw

I will keep 10 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill per day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Kids

Discover Together

I will spend 15 minutes educating my family on reasons to avoid plastic and how we will do it.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Plastics 101

Learn about Local Plastics Recycling

Plastics recycling is real, and it works in the Twin Cities metro area when done correctly. I will spend 15 minutes learning about how to correctly recycle plastics in the Twin Cities and where recycled plastics end up.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Plastics 101

Watch a Documentary

I will watch a documentary film about plastic waste with family and friends and talk about what we learned.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Kids

How did conversations with your family about reducing plastic use go? What common values or motivations do you have to take action together?
Susanna Lakely 2/27/2026 10:56 PM
Our conversation went really well. We watched the Plastic Pollution Coalition videos on how to talk to family about plastic pollution and how to make simple changes that can go a long way in cleaning up the environment and reducing plastic waste.

Some of the things we discussed were how to avoid single-use plastic items like plastic straws and cups, liquid hand soap dispensers and toothbrushes. This isn’t a lot but it’s a start.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
On-the-go

Have you noticed a shift in your community as more messaging about reusable straws becomes mainstream? Cite some examples.
Susanna Lakely 2/27/2026 9:42 PM
I haven’t noticed a change in my immediate community about messaging around reusable straws, but I am aware that several communities in Minnesota participate in the The Last Plastic Straw movement, such as Minneapolis and Bloomington. This challenge encourages individuals and businesses, specifically restaurants, to consider plastic pollution and stop using plastic straws and other single-use plastic items.

Another organizations that aims to reduce plastic waste in Minnesota is the Coalition for Plastic Reduction MN. They educate and promote sustainable practices with the goal of helping to reduce the use of plastic straws, as well as other plastics in Minnesota. The Minnesota Zero Waste Coalition is another community-led campaign that promotes the reduction of plastic straws and other single-use plastics.

I decided to purchase metal straws in place of plastic straws. It’s a small action that I think can make a big difference when it comes to looking after the environment.

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- Margo Ashmore 2/28/2026 7:33 AM
  Thank you for listing the Coalition for Plastic Free Reduction MN - I was not aware of that group. I'd also like to promote Reuse Minnesota. Reusemn.org advocates for, educates and promotes anything/anyone that keeps stuff out of landfills and avoids the use of new materials and the water & energy involved in making new stuff. Membership is accessibly priced, and the quarterly meetings/tours are a lot of fun and informative. It's a great network of businesses, organizations, individuals and education institutions/governments.
  
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Susanna Lakely 2/06/2026 5:15 PM
I read the article from The Plastic Action Center to learn about the different symbols used to identify recyclable plastics. I found this article helpful because I assumed that the Chasing Arrows symbol meant that a product was automatically made to be recycled. But what the symbol really means, or the number inside the chasing arrows does, is identify what type of plastic a product is made of. As discussed in the PBS documentary Plastic Wars, some plastics are not recyclable and recycled because of the material, or chemical composition, that’s used to make them. The resin identification code uses numbers 1-7 to identify which plastics are recyclable and recycled, verses plastics that are not recycled. The article explains how all plastics are recyclable but the process of recycling most of them can be difficult. This is part of the reason why many plastics end up in land fields.

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- Lily Keire 2/07/2026 4:53 AM
  Yeah, anything after 5 is junk.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Plastics 101

Which documentary did you choose to watch? What did you learn?
Susanna Lakely 2/04/2026 6:44 PM
I chose to watch the PBS Frontline documentary Plastic Wars to help me understand what happens to the plastics we recycle. I learned that only certain plastics, like water bottles and milk jugs, can actually be recycled in most places. A lot of other everyday use items, like food packaging, single use plastic bags, and Ziploc bags, can’t be recycled at all. The film also explains how plastics are transported and sorted at recycling plants, and it shows how complicated this process is.

One of the most surprising things I learned is that the plastic industry has promoted recycling mainly to keep producing more plastic. The documentary shows that companies knew recycling wouldn’t solve the problem, but they encouraged it anyway so people would feel better about using plastic. This allowed them to avoid stricter rules and continue to make more products.

The main message of the documentary is that recycling alone is not enough to fix the plastic crisis. To really help the environment, we need to reduce how much plastic we use.

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