Author: Sophie Pike

You’re probably cleaning your house, room, apartment, or wherever you reside weekly or every other week – at least you probably should be. And it’s tempting to buy those products with the flashy labels that seem like they’ll clean your space best, but those can be harmful to the environment. Even some items labeled “green” are not necessarily any better because they are subject to green-washing, which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as “the creation or propagation of an unfounded or misleading environmentalist image” (OED). 

 

One product guilty of this is Simple Green Concentrated All-Purpose Cleaner. While the green packaging and title seem environmental and user friendly, that could not be further from the truth. One chemical found in this product, 2-butoxyethanol, is said to be “a solvent absorbed through the skin that damages red blood cells and irritates eyes” (CBS, 2012). Another harmful product is Spic and Span Multi-Surface and Floor Cleaner, which contains a chemical that is “persist[ant] in the environment and has been found toxic to aquatic life” (CBS, 2012). This chemical – ethoxylate – has already been “banned for sale in the European Union” (CBS, 2012). It can be confusing and overwhelming when you’re buying cleaning products because there are so many options, so the chances are pretty high that you don’t know what is safest and most sustainable.

Thankfully, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) oversees the “Safer Choice program, which certifies products that contain safer ingredients for human health and the environment” (EPA). This program is useful in giving cleaning product consumers a better idea of what is actually sustainable, so they are not fooled by greenwashing labels. The EPA compiles a list of more sustainable options by paying attention to VOC (volatile organic compounds) content, safer chemicals, renewable resources, sustainable packaging, and more. 

So you may be asking yourself, “what can I do?” The answer is pretty simple: educate yourself, avoid harmful products, and invest in more sustainable cleaning supplies. Some sustainable cleaning brands you should try to incorporate into your cleaning routine are Grove Collaborative, Common Good, and ECOS (The Good Trade). As The Good Trade says, “these natural and eco-friendly household cleaning brands are consciousof your family’s health and the wellbeing of the earth”( The Good Trade). They are great opportunities to introduce sustainability into your cleaning routine, and some of them even have refillable options to reduce single use plastic waste!

There is an additional option to the green cleaning initiative, which is making your own products. If you want to put in a little bit of work for what might be the most sustainable option of all for an all-purpose cleaner, just mix these ingredients together: ½ cup vinegar, ¼ cup baking soda, and 4 to 8 cups hot water in a spray bottle” (WebMD). You can even add a little bit of an essential oil of your choice if you want to add a scent. For my personal all-purpose cleaner, I went with a lemon scent, which is subtle, yet effective.

If you’re looking for ways to incorporate sustainability in your routine without switching your lifestyle up too much, green cleaning is for you. It implements sustainable options in place of something you already do, so it isn’t too hard to add! I highly suggest trying out some of the above brands or following the steps to create your own cleaner, for both your health and the earth’s.

Resources

​​”greenwashing, n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2022. Web. 26 April 2022.

“Identifying Greener Cleaning Products.” EPA, last updated 26 March 2022. https://www.epa.gov/greenerproducts/identifying-greener-cleaning-products.

“EWG’s ‘Hall of Shame’ of toxic household cleaners.” CBS News, 12 September 2012, https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/ewgs-hall-of-shame-of-toxic-household-cleaners/. 

“10 Natural and Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products For The Conscious Home.” The Good Trade, https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/natural-eco-friendly-cleaning-products-for-the-conscious-home. 

“Guide to Natural Cleaning.” Web MD, medically reviewed by Melinda Ratini, DO, MS, 19 April 2021. https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/ss/slideshow-guide-to-natural-cleaning#:~:text=For%20mild%20cleaning%2C%20mix%201,give%20it%20a%20fresh%20scent. 

It’s the week after Halloween, and for some people that means finishing off the rest of their Halloween candy, putting up Thanksgiving decor, or — for some crazy people — listening to Christmas music. One of the longest standing Halloween traditions is pumpkin carving, and for good reason: it’s something fun and creative you can do with friends and family, and you get to put them out as decorations when you’re done! But come November 1st, what do you do? By now, your pumpkins are close to rotting, and you’re ready for the Thanksgiving season. So, where do our pumpkins go? 

Well, it turns out that out “of the nearly 2 billion pounds of pumpkin grown in the United States in 2014, an estimated 1.3 billion pounds were simply trashed” (sciencealert.com). One point three BILLION pounds!!! This number is so big that it’s hard to visualize, so here are some comparisons. One point three billion pounds of pumpkins equals a little over eight Washington Monuments of pumpkins in our landfills. That’s almost 12.5 Titanics of pumpkins. In terms of elephants, that’s 86,666 male elephants worth of pumpkins in our landfills.

If these massive numbers don’t disturb you on their own, it’s also been discovered that once pumpkins decompose, they contribute to climate change by releasing methane. Clearly, something needs to change. So, what can you do instead of contributing to the thousands of elephants worth of pumpkins in our landfills? Lots of things! Here are a few:

• Eat the seeds! You may be thinking that seeds only contribute to a fraction of the waste, but every pound matters!! It’s okay to start small! Some of my favorite post-Halloween memories are of eating pumpkin seeds that my mom baked in the oven. There are so many delicious, easy recipes for pumpkin seeds. Feeling savory? Try this awesome recipe that involves Worcestershire sauce. Feeling sweet? Try this mouth-watering recipe that uses cinnamon and sugar. If you want something simpler, just sprinkle some salt on them, and throw them in the oven, just like my mom used to!

• Exfoliate your skin! Pumpkins are great for your skin, and there are lots of ways you can incorporate the fall vegetable into your skincare routine. Try one of these five DIY pumpkin based skin care products to reuse your pumpkin and have your own at-home-spa! If a recipe calls for pumpkin puree, there’s your opportunity to turn your old pumpkin into something new!
• Compost! If you’re not into eating your pumpkin or putting it on your skin, get rid of it and give back to the earth it came from. By composting your pumpkin instead of simply throwing it in the garbage, “the biomass can be recycled for nutrients, instead of traveling straight to landfill” (sciencealert.com). 

 

One reason many people shy away from sustainable living is because they are under this daunting impression that they have to change their entire lifestyle in order to make an impact. But that’s not true: simple changes like recycling your pumpkins after Halloween can make a real difference! So when you’re getting ready for the coming holiday seasons, be intentional with what you do with those pumpkins on your front porch that served you so well for Fall. And encourage your neighbors to do the same!

Sources:

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/millions-of-pumpkins-are-wasted-during-halloween/

https://www.sciencealert.com/an-astonishing-number-of-pumpkins-are-wasted-for-halloween-each-year

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/239621/cinnamon-toast-pumpkin-seeds/

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/55091/savory-toasted-pumpkin-seeds/

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/how-to-use-pumpkin-on-your-skin/

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-54725980

https://www.scarce.org/pumpkins/