The Coffee Cup Crisis: What You Can Do!

It was a rainy day in my small town, so naturally the local cafe was crowded. As my sister and I stuffed toasted bagels with generous amounts of veggie cream cheese into our mouths while seeking refuge from the weather, I glanced around the crowded shop in horror. On nearly every table there sat one or more warm beverages, perfect for warding off the chill of an autumn day in New England. My horror came not from the existence of these warm beverages, but from the wasteful, single-use, disposable cups in which they were being consumed. 

The disposable coffee cup industry has long been a plague on the environment. From the cups themselves manufactured predominantly from virgin pulp and lined with plastic—rendering them nearly impossible to recycle— (or, worst-case scenario, styrofoam which can take over 500 years to breakdown in a landfill), to the wasteful cardboard coffee sleeve, and rarely-recycled plastic lid—these warm beverage receptacles are an environmental menace.

Part of what makes the coffee cup crisis so insidious, is the normalization of disposable products and the greenwashing that falsely frames such products as being environmentally friendly. For example, many are operating under the false assumption that paper beverage cups are recyclable, when in fact, they are not. These cups are lined with a layer of plastic polyethylene in order to make the cups waterproof. This layer cannot be separated from the paper material, thereby requiring a specialized recycling process that is not widely available at most facilities. 

Moreover, the majority of single-use coffee cups are manufactured from unrecycled, virgin paper products.

The plastic lids, depending on the type of plastic they are made from and the types of plastics accepted by your local waste services, can be recycled, but they can also be eliminated as a source of waste altogether by replacing them with a reusable cup/lid.

The cardboard sleeves can also be reused or recycled, but often are not.

The sheer magnitude of waste produced from disposable cups necessitates action, or at the very least, reconsideration of our current mode of consumption. Americans consume 400 million cups of coffee every day! As a country, we throw away 25 billion styrofoam cups each year, and more than 50 billion paper coffee cups end up in landfills annually. Considering their manufacturing, distribution, and disposal, each disposable coffee cup is responsible for 0.24 pounds of CO2 greenhouse gas emissions. That’s a lot of impact for a product which, on average, is used for 15 minutes before being thrown away. 

A warm beverage, be it coffee, tea, or some other concoction, can help us kick start our day, unwind after work, or warm up in cold weather. However, we don’t need to contribute to a destructive culture of disposability in order to enjoy such beverages. There exists a simple and readily accessible alternative to disposable coffee cups: reusable ones! They come in all shapes, sizes, materials, and colors. 

If you’re unsure which cup best fits your need, consider researching online and reading product reviews until you find an option you like.

And, when it comes to the coffee sleeve, consider using a reusable sleeve. You can purchase these sleeves or consider crafting one yourself.

Admittedly, a higher degree of resources and energy initially go into manufacturing a reusable cup whether it be plastic, ceramic, or glass. However, depending on the material it is made from, your reusable cup requires only 16-25 uses before it uses fewer resources than continuous disposable cup use, according to a lifecycle assessment conducted by researchers at Trinity College in Dublin. If you’re someone who drinks coffee or tea daily, or even if you’re not, that’s a quick turn around.

Although I regularly refrain from using disposable coffee cups and predominantly consume warm beverages from within the comfort of my own home, this week I made an extra effort to take my morning tea to-go so I could try out a variety of reusable drinkware. First, on my morning commute to work I used a classic ceramic mug. With no lid, it did slosh and spill a bit in the car, and it did cool down rather quickly, but overall it was easy to use and fit snugly into the cupholder. This option was not the best for transport, but it would be a great option to bring into your office or workplace and use throughout the day.

Next, I used a stainless steel travel mug. While it’s a sad time to be a fan of the NY Giants, the mug worked well nonetheless. It also fit snugly into my cupholder, did not spill, and stayed warm well into my morning shift.

The favorite of all my reusable drinkware is undoubtedly my Cuppow! This innovative reusable drinkware option retrofits a mason jar into a travel mug with a microwave-safe insulated koozie and simplistic spill guard top. Cuppow! Products are made in the USA using recycled, organic materials. They are a company committed to sustainability and they donate 5% of their profits to charity. I highly recommend considering Cuppow! for your reusable drinkware needs. 

Furthermore, for all your cold-beverage cupware needs, consider investing in an insulated, reusable cup and straw to further eliminate the waste of single-use straws, plastic cups, and lids.  Additionally, if you use a Keurig brewing system or equivalent at home, consider using reusable pods or filters to eliminate the waste of single-use disposable pods.


So, by all means, continue to indulge in pumpkin spice lattes, decadent cappuccinos, simplistic teas, and your life-giving coffees. Just make an ecological choice while doing so. In this case, the ecological choice also ends up being an economical one as many gas stations and cafes offer 10-15 cent discounts for using reusable drinkware. If you buy a coffee daily, this amounts to savings of 36-54 dollars per year—not a huge amount, but still some economic incentive to bolster the environmental one. 

If you’re someone who needs a formal contract to hold you accountable for adopting greener practices, like using reusable cups, consider taking the Carry Your Cup pledge, available here:
http://www.carryyourcup.org/take-the-pledge

Additionally, if you are forgetful, consider investing in multiple reusable cups: one for home, one to keep in your car, and one to keep at work so you’re never without the option to be kinder to the environment.

Ultimately, I urge you all, formal pledge or not, to at least spend one week trying out a sustainable alternative to disposable coffee cups. As always, if you give it a try and would like to tell us about your experience, or if you have any additional tips, tricks, or thoughts you’d like to share, please do so in the comments below. 

Stay tuned next week for “loads” of fun as I explore how to incorporate eco-friendly practices to green your typical laundry routine.

~Sam 

A Solution to the Tissue Issue: Give Handkerchiefs a Try!

     As the weather turns colder and the time for flu season draws ever nearer, we may find ourselves start reaching for that box of tissues. However, before you do, I urge you to consider an alternative: the tried and true handkerchief.
     When it comes to living more sustainably and reducing the amount of waste we produce, there may be no simpler change we can make than adopting the use of handkerchiefs as alternatives to single-use, disposable tissue products. A handkerchief, for anyone who may be unfamiliar with the concept, is a square of fabric that is used for personal hygiene purposes such as wiping your hands or face or blowing your nose. According to the Wikipedia page on handkerchiefs, they can be made from a variety of fabrics including cotton, synthetic blends, silk, or linen. For the fancier and more fashionable among us, handkerchiefs can serve as a form of stylistic expression that simultaneously showcases your style and your sustainability.
     I, being neither fancy nor fashionable, began my week-long handkerchief journey by simply cutting an old cotton bandana into fourths.

     In the wake of a devastating breakup, I had more than ample opportunity to try out my handkerchief this week, and, broken heart aside, things went very well! 
     Whereas before I commonly found myself reaching for the tissue box or tearing off a swath of toilet paper to wipe away tears, snot, or a combination of the two, I now had a functional and reusable purple hanky to do the job. In having a handkerchief on hand, I eliminated my use of disposable tissue products and additionally improved my personal hygiene and cleanliness by no longer turning my sleeves into makeshift snot rags.
By cutting my bandana into fourths, I found that I was able to keep one handkerchief in my car, one in my room, and one in my purse for all of my on-the-go nose blowing needs. My handkerchief was effective for wiping away tears and blowing my nose, and, even with heavy use, I never felt that my handkerchief became overly dirty or disgusting. At the end of the week, I simply tossed it into the wash with the rest of my laundry. Simple to use. Simple to clean. I would definitely recommend utilizing handkerchiefs.
     While I refrained from sobbing in the public sphere this week, I did make a concerted effort to use my handkerchief in public, just to see if I would receive any odd stares or other forms of moderate social backlash. My opportunity presented itself as I was out to dinner with my sister, indulging in some spicier fare. My nose began to run, and, rather than wipe it on my sleeve or grab some tissue from the bathroom, I proudly pulled my purple hanky from my purse. As I used it, no one cared. Not a single person reacted in any way, thus proving that the hanky can be used discreetly and freely while in public.

 

If you are wondering why there exists a need to seek sustainable alternatives to the seemingly innocuous single-use tissue, the fact of the matter is, we have a tissue issue. Americans alone use over 2.5 billion facial tissues a year, according to forest products information and data authority RISI as cited in Linda Poppenheimer’s environmental blog Green Groundswell. If you’re interested in the history of paper facial tissue, I suggest you give her blog a read, as she covers the topic very well.
   
  Furthermore, the process of manufacturing tissues and other paper products contributes to deforestation, uses substantial amounts of water and electricity, and emits CO2 in the transportation of raw materials and finished products. 
     Tissues, as it turns out, cannot be recycled because their fibers are too short to be turned into new paper products. Although tissues can be composted through high-tech, industrial composting methods, this option remains largely inaccessible to many individuals with backyard composts or without access to such a composting facility.
     With the inability to recycle tissues, we need to seek ways to reduce our tissue consumption—and the reusable handkerchief offers a simple, affordable, and practical solution.
     If you are for some reason obstinately opposed to the idea of utilizing handkerchiefs in place of disposable single-use paper products, at least consider switching to paper products produced from recycled paper.

     For those of you who have long-used handkerchiefs or for those trying it out for the first time, let us know how it goes in the comments below! 

Next week, I take on the destructive disposability of the pumpkin-spice latte and our society’s problematic throw-away coffee culture as I make the case for reusable coffee cups. Until then, long live the hanky!!

~Sam

"Lettuce" Begin: Food Scraps and the Wonderful World of Household Composting

As promised in my introductory blog post, this week I explore the topic of food waste and what you can do to help reduce the amount of food waste you generate.

Food waste is perhaps one of the more nuanced waste sources I will cover here because it has wide-reaching and complex environmental, social, and economic ramifications. On an environmental level (the primary lens through which we will view the issue), a lot of energy and resources go into producing, transporting, and preparing the food we eat—and the food we throw away. Additionally, a whopping 94% of the food we throw away ends up in landfills, according to the EPA. By taking a more conscious approach to food purchasing, preparation, storage, and disposal, we can reduce the amount of food waste we generate as individuals or households. In this week’s blog I focus on the process of disposing of food waste, and what can be done to re-use / recycle the food waste we generate.

I chose to focus on the disposal aspect of food waste because I have harbored a longstanding curiosity about composting and a desire to start a compost of my own at home. However, given the transience of my former lifestyle in AmeriCorps, I have not previously had the opportunity to create a compost.

If you’re reading this and thinking: Heck no. I will not be starting a compost pile of my own (whether it be for reasons of practical restrictions, time restraints, or a complete disinterest in taking on such a project), consider finding someone who is willing to collect or receive your compostable materials. This could be a neighbor who composts, a community compost drop-off site, or a compost pick-up service. You may even want to contact your local waste service provider and see if they have or plan to develop the infrastructure for curbside compost pick-up.

You can search for facilities near you here:

http://www.findacomposter.com/

That being said, I do have the space, the time, and the desire to start a household compost of my own—and that’s precisely what I did.

It all started as I whipped up a delicious breakfast one morning consisting of a yogurt parfait and two fried eggs. As I chopped the tops off of strawberries, peeled the banana, and cracked the egg shells, I felt utterly dismayed at shuttling such items directly into the trash, when I knew that they could be put to better use.

As mentioned in my first blog post, I am currently living back home with my parents. But, environmental radical that I am, with minimal discussion prior to starting this endeavor, I acquired a five-gallon bucket with a lid, and thus began our household compost.

I subsequently informed my parents that we would be composting (they were tentatively on board), and began my research into DIY compost bins. Starting the collection prior to having a compost receptacle proved to be a great impetus, as I knew I had to have something ready to go before we filled that five-gallon bucket.

My search began on my county’s waste management website, where I found a useful PDF detailing six DIY compost construction plans as well as a link to additional design ideas. I encourage you to take a look at the plans here: Build Your Own Bin

And, of course, a simple internet search of “DIY composters” will also yield a multitude of resources.

I ultimately settled on a DIY trash can tumbler. The design was simple enough—a large trash can and lid with holes drilled into the sides and bottoms for aeration and drainage. However, as I disclosed my plans to my parents, they became concerned that I would someday leave home and they would be left to roll an unwieldy trash can around on the ground every two weeks.

Their concerns were admittedly valid, and after some discussion, I found myself with the financial backing to purchase a standup tumbler system online. My parents wanted something that was pest-proof (we live in the woods—again, see first blog) and easy to use. With these criteria in mind and a generous budget of $100, I ultimately ended up ordering a tumbler from online home furnishings retailer Hayneedle. I decided on the well-reviewed, $80 “Forest City Yimby Compost Tumbler with Two Chambers.”

You can check it out here: Forest City Tumbling Composter

This model was touted as being great for beginners, but difficult to assemble. Luckily, when the tumbler arrived in the mail, I had my dad to help with the assembly. If you find yourself without the aid of a seasoned-assembler, I suggest watching the following YouTube tutorial, as it proved quite useful as a supplement to the near-useless assembly instructions included with the tumbler: Tumbler Assembly

With the tumbler assembled, I proudly carried it outside to a relatively sunny spot in my yard (sun assists in speeding up the decomposition process) beside our family’s wood pile. As I dumped in the half-full bucket of food scraps we had accumulated since first beginning to collect nearly a week prior and tossed in a couple handfuls of leaves and a shovel full of soil starter, I felt immensely satisfied.

In this way, composting provides a tangible measure of the amount of waste being diverted from landfills and re-purposed into nutrient-rich compost.

And, when it comes to food waste, the potential for waste diversion is vast.
In the United States, on average, consumers produce nearly one pound of food waste per person per day, according to a 2018 USDA study. The majority of the food being wasted (39%), the study found, consists of fruits and vegetables.

While the first mode of action I recommend is to reduce the amount of food being wasted through such actions as taking appropriate portions of food, storing food and leftovers properly, and planning your food shopping strategically to avoid buying more than you can use before it spoils; inevitably we will produce waste. Whether this is from unwanted food, food that has gone bad, or inedible food waste byproducts such as banana peels and eggshells, the majority of this food waste can and should be diverted from landfills. In other words, don’t throw your food scraps in the trash—compost them instead!

Composting—the process of converting organic material (such as food scraps and yard debris) into nutrient-rich soil conditioner known as compost through decomposition—is an ancient practice. As chronicled by Aaron Sidder in his National Geographic article “The Green, Brown, and Beautiful Story of Compost,” the practice dates back as far as the Stone Age 12,000 years ago where archaeological evidence suggests Scots in the British Isles plowed and seeded compost piles to improve their small-scale farms.

In recent years, Sidder asserts, the practice of composting has increased as people look to reduce waste and embrace ideals of sustainability.

The benefits of compost are vast and varied, but for simplicity’s sake, there are two main benefits of composting:

   1. It diverts methane-producing organic materials from landfills

   2. It yields a nutrient-rich soil conditioner that can be used in gardens, potted plants, and mulching

If you have never composted before, I encourage you to give it a try!

Based on my experience, here is what I would recommend:
1. Do what you can to avoid creating food waste to begin with.
         TIPS: Reducing Food Waste; 

                    The Truth Behind"Use-by" Dates
2. Spend some time researching the option that best fits your wants/needs: curbside compost, drop off, interior compost bin, exterior compost bin, DIY, purchased, etc…

3. Construct / obtain a compost bin and collection receptacle, such as my tumbler and five-gallon bucket.
4. Collect food waste and organic materials to add to your compost.
        Since starting to compost at home, I have found that the majority of our compost consists of used coffee grounds, banana peels, egg shells, tea bags, and rotten fruit/veggies.
5. Be willing to learn as you go. It’s totally fine not to know what should / should not go into your compost at first.
        -As a general rule, avoid meat, dairy, and fish (as these may overheat your compost and generate an odor that attracts animals)
        - maintain a 3:1 greens to browns ratio
>greens = vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds/tea bags, plant trimmings, egg shells
 >browns = leaves, pine needles, straw/hay, sawdust, dryer lint
The ratio ensures the proper balance of carbon and nitrogen in your pile, but ultimately the compost will still do its thing even if your ratios are inexact or improvised. I’ve more or less been tossing in two to three handfuls of leaves each time I add in about 2.5 gallons of compost “greens” collected in my kitchen, and things seem to be going well so far!!

For more information on what to put in your compost and what to avoid, see here:
   What you can and cannot compost

6. Add an initial scoop of soil or compost starter to introduce microbes to your compost that will speed up the decomposition process.
7. Turn/rotate/tumble at least every two weeks (or as instructed in the design / product specifications of your chosen compost receptacle).
    -add water and turn more frequently to introduce more oxygen as needed
8. Wait for the decomposition process to run its course. Finished, high-quality compost should look like rich, dark soil and smell like earthy dirt.
9. Apply to gardens, add to potted plants, use as mulch, and know that you have helped reuse waste and reduce your impact in your steps toward greener living.

I can honestly say that I have quite enjoyed my compost adventure. Although a relative novice, I have learned a lot from the process of starting my own household compost and I hope you all found this post to be informative. If you have further questions or end up starting a compost of your own, please let me know in the comments below!

Next week, I will be covering what I’m calling the “tissue issue” as I venture into the wild world of handkerchiefs in my quest to no longer use single-use, disposable tissues. Stay tuned to find out how things go…

   -Sam

An Introduction to Greener Living...

My journey as an environmentalist began at a very young age when I first fell in love with the mountains, the forests, the streams, and the ponds that surrounded my family and I in our quaint, cabinesque home in the forests of Vermont. Nature, to me, was no obscure “other,” no vacation destination, no novelty. It was my backyard, my neighbor, my playground. And, as I frolicked among the beauty of Vermont’s outdoors with my three sisters—the blonde ball of endless, adventure-seeking energy that I was in my youth—I fell in love. As I grew older, I learned not only to love nature, but to respect it. And, as I continued to grow and learn—as one inevitably does—I yearned to protect it. 

 I subsequently served on a trail crew with the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, studied “abroad” on a farm in upstate New York in a semester dedicated to the study and practice of sustainability, and earned a degree in Conservation Biology. My course load introduced me to the many problems plaguing our environment as well as a plethora of possible solutions going forward. While in school, I engaged in focused studies on microplastic pollution in North Country waterways and in the role of pollinators in agroecosystems. 

 When I left school, I spent a month hiking the Long Trail—a 273-mile trail traversing the state of Vermont—with my twin sister (also a Conservation Biology major, for the record). I then spent the last two years serving in AmeriCorps NCCC (the National Civilian Community Corps): a national community service program for young adults ages 18-24. My two consecutive terms of service took me to Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, California, Florida, Idaho, and Puerto Rico. My service spent in Florida and Puerto Rico was in response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria that had left many neighborhoods battered and destroyed. It was through this work, that I witnessed firsthand the consequences of our changing climate. 

 My passion for the environment is indelible, and although my educational background and experiences have laid a strong foundation for an environmental career later on down the road, I am not yet ready to embark on a career—at least not in the conventional sense. And so, I find myself, a 24-year-old environmentalist living at home with my parents pondering my next move in life. It likely entails travel, but while I iron out those details, I wanted to begin shaping my life to live and act in a way that more accurately reflects and conveys my environmental ethic. I strongly believe that we are all responsible for being conscientious stewards of this earth, and that everyone—even the indifferent, apathetic, climate change-deniers among us—can make simple lifestyle changes to live and act in a less environmentally-destructive way. 

 And so, the English minor in me decided to start this blog to chronicle my journey to live a more consciously environmentalist life: starting with waste reduction. The “three R’s” of waste reduction—reduce, reuse, recycle—will shape my approach as I explore solutions to reducing, reusing, and recycling the waste produced in my everyday life. It is my hope that as others follow me on this journey—even if it’s just one person—they will find ways to reduce the waste in their life and be inspired to do their part in protecting this earth we all share. 

                                                Coming up 

 On a weekly basis, I plan to identify one source of waste in my life and research, explore, and evaluate possible solutions to the waste. At the end of each week I will post a blog detailing my findings and evaluating the practicalities of the possible solutions. The first source of waste I will examine is food scraps. Needless to say, I’m “eggcited” to begin!