Furman Greenbelt Sustainable Living Community

Sustainable living is becoming more popular and recognized as an increasing lifestyle choice. Many people associate sustainability with conscious choices we make during our daily routines. However, as a society, we fail to recognize that we can be sustainable without even having to get out of bed. It’s called sleep sustainability. Humans spend up to half of the day in their bedrooms and more specifically, in their beds. Making simple changes to one’s night routine can drastically improve sustainability- and improve sleep quality as well!

For starters, replace your ten-year-old mattress with a new eco-friendly one. Organic mattresses are free from chemicals and other harmful substances. They are also fire-resistant, allergen resistant and biodegradable. The next step is to cover your new mattress with green bedding. 100% cotton sheets and organic materials are breathable, soft and clean from toxins. What you wear to bed matters too: breathable, silky soft materials like bamboo, hemp, cotton and flannel provide comfort and can elevate your sleep style.

There are also steps you can take to improve your sleeping environment. The addition of houseplants in the bedroom cleans the air and removes contaminants- perfect for improving sleep quality. A cooler sleeping environment is both better for your sleep cycle and the environment, so turn down the heater in the winter months and crack a window for cool summer air. It can be hard to fully wake up in the mornings, but taking a cold shower gives you the perfect kickstart to your day and saves water by cutting down the length of your showers. Even the simple act of centering your sleeping hours around the rising and setting of the sun is sustainable, as lighting and electricity does not need to be used. Unplugging devices such as laptops and phones reduce electricity use and blue light emitted from screens which prohibits the production of melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleepcycle. An environmentally friendly bedroom is depicted in image 1 with sustainable bedding, houseplants, bamboo window shades and energy friendly lighting fixtures.

Image 1: Eco-friendly bedroom

In the cottage, we have been implementing these habits and exploring new ways to be sustainable during our sleeping hours. After entering the cottage, you will immediately notice the copious plants and greenery surrounding our living spaces. Cylinder solar lights, like the one depicted in image two, allow greenbelt residents to substitute electricity use for the natural glow of the sun. Personally, I adorned my twin xl college bed with 100% cotton sheets and make use of an organic sleep eye mask. After nightfall, the cottage is lit up with solar string lights that convert sunlight from daytime into energy. The cottage is not only practicing sustainability in waking hours, but we are making efforts to improve the environment, even while sleeping.

Image 2: Solar lighting tube

 

https://www.ecomena.org/eco-friendly-sleep/

https://www.euronews.com/green/2019/05/26/8-ways-to-green-your-sleep-routine

 

A sustainable lifestyle encompasses all aspects of life, including fashion and shopping, areas people might not associate with their carbon footprint. However, to people that may not be familiar with sustainability, I think sustainable fashion is something that people could easily learn and understand, and moreover change in their lives. I know that once I learned the impact of some big fashion corporations, I stopped shopping from them because not only do they negatively impact the environment, but their manufacturing tactics are also inhumane. Brands like Zara, H&M, Forever 21, and Shein are slowly getting exposed for their bad practices, but that doesn’t necessarily stop people from shopping from them. Cheap prices are great in the moment, especially for college students, but I think an education on the long-term impact of “fast fashion” and the importance of shopping with the environment in mind would be beneficial for us all.

CBS published an article in 2019 stating that “Fashion industry’s carbon impact is bigger than airline industry’s” which I think puts things into perspective. It attributes the problems to fast fashion, or the business of encouraging consumption with low prices and fast changing new collections of clothing proving to be                           (Wagner 2021)                                      detrimental to the environment (CBS 2019). The article also offers potential solutions, like consignment and resale of clothes. Once people understand that shopping is more of an investment, and that spending in a smart way can benefit them now and down the line if they choose to buy and sell used clothes, it is a win-win for the consumers and the environment.

This awareness and mindfulness of the processes and resources required in fashion is called slow fashion, the opposite of fast fashion. It is considered sustainable and ethical fashion that focuses on the reduction of consumption and production, along with good quality and fair treatment of people, animals, and the environment (Good On You 2021). One can participate and advocate for slow fashion by shopping secondhand, using consignment and resale, doing research on the brands you buy, and upcycling. Local thrift or consignment stores are a great place to start, and the website https://goodonyou.eco/ can help you research your brands.

    Like I mentioned, upcycling is another great way to recycle clothing, a way of reusing something in a way that makes it of higher value or quality, like sewing an old piece of clothing to make a new product. This is close to my heart specifically because I upcycle clothing myself! It is something I started over the summer, and I now have my own Etsy page; I thrift shirts and pullovers from secondhand stores and embroider or add patterns to make them original pieces! This is a small way that I have encouraged slow fashion, in that now when people buy from me, they receive an original piece without any environmental impacts. 

Original Bookshelf Embroidered Sweatshirt

https://www.etsy.com/shop/EcoFriendlyFits?ref=profile_header

      While the use of the “Good On You” website or simply buying secondhand clothes may seem like a small and insignificant change you’re making in your life, think about the possible outcomes if it is done by others and on a large scale! I hope this has encouraged you to be mindful when shopping and practice more sustainable fashion!

 

 

Sources:

“Fashion Industry’s Carbon Impact Bigger than Airline Industry’s.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/earth-day-2019-fashion-industrys-carbon-impact-is-bigger-than-airline-industrys/.

“Good on You.” Good On You, 1 Oct. 2021, https://goodonyou.eco/.

Wagner, Words by: Luisa, and Words by: “The Environmental Impact of the Fast Fashion Industry: Infographic & Stats.” Sanvt, 16 Mar. 2020, https://sanvt.com/journal/environmental-impact-of-fast-fashion-infographic/.

“What Is Slow Fashion?” Good On You, 8 July 2021, https://goodonyou.eco/what-is-slow-fashion/.

 

          Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is the mantra of those who aim to change our practices to a more sustainable way of life. We generally consider these practices as applied to our coffee cups, cardboard boxes and other small household items. But in light of all the new green technologies, how does this apply to our homes? Is it better to build a new home with solar panels, geothermal power and green roof rather than reuse an older home in need of renovations? Two factors led me to consider these questions more deeply, with the first being my participation in Furman’s Greenbelt Community, which has me not only focused on how I can individually alter my impact on our environment, but also how I might make a larger difference as an advocate for changes in the larger community. The second factor is my family’s recent move to Spartanburg and our decision to make a difference in our new community through real estate investing, with an ultimate goal of providing housing for families facing homelessness. As we began to meet other people involved in real estate, it came to our attention that Spartanburg city prefers to demolish older homes and sell the lots rather than sell the home to someone willing to restore it. This seemed wasteful to me, but I had no idea which practice was more sustainable — restoration of the old or building newer, greener homes.

 

          Before addressing the environmental impact, one factor that must be considered in this discussion is the loss of history. Take this beautiful historic home in Spartanburg, Bon Haven, built in 1884 with many architectural details not seen in today’s modern homes (Image 1). Although a couple offered to purchase the home and restore it to its historic beauty, the city opted to allow its demolition. This home and its history were lost to us in September of 2017. But maybe the impact on the environment of a home that was built a century before green technologies began to be widely applied in construction has too much of a negative impact to warrant its saving?

 

 Image 1: Bon Haven built in 1884 and approved for demolition February of 2017

 

          This is the question that I sought to answer as I began to read about new construction vs restoration. Does the practice of reusing for environmental sustainability not apply to homes? As I suspected, studies have been done to gather data to answer this question. Since I have seen much celebration of new “green” homes built with technologies aimed at sustainability, I assumed building a green home would be better for the environment than restoring an older home. While some appreciation is shown for beautiful restorations, I have never seen the environmental community celebrate these restorations like seen with net zero new builds. But the data tells us we should actually advocate for and celebrate each time an old home or building is restored to be reused. A 2012 study of this issue showed that the benefits of reusing older homes and buildings outweighed the environmental benefits of newer more energy efficient construction. The impact of the newer technologies takes 10-80 years to overcome the negative impact of the new construction. The study determined that if the city of Portland restored rather than demolished buildings over the next 10 years, it would lead to a reduction of 231,000 metric tons of carbon. 

 

          Living in the Greenbelt community, I have the opportunity to experience green technologies that allow me to leave a smaller footprint on my environment. The use of thermal hot water and solar lighting allows me to enjoy a hot shower and study late into the night without the worries of how this energy use will negatively impact the future of our environment. Thankfully, the Furman community recognized the importance of applying the principle of reusing as they prepared this more sustainable living accommodation. Our housing was built in the 1970s (Image 2) and retrofitted with the new green technologies! Sustainability advocates need to look at all aspects of environmental impact-sometimes new and trendy is not the most sustainable practice. We may be able to preserve history while also using the amazing technologies developed to lessen our footprint. 

 

Image 2: The cabin and the cottage in Furman’s Greenbelt Community

 

Sources:

https://www.countryliving.com/life/news/a42776/south-carolina-bon-haven-mansion-to-be-demolished/

https://www.buildings.com/articles/31503/new-construction-vs-renovation-which-greener

https://www.wspa.com/news/bon-haven-demolished-in-spartanburg/

 

Numerous resources exist on sustainable living, methods and tips on reducing waste and shrinking your footprint on the earth, but not enough focus is put on incentivizing people to actually engage in these methods.  This disconnect poses the greatest issue to the adoption of clean energy, eco-friendly technology, and protection of the environment.  To create a large lifestyle change in the general public is a tall task, thus the onus must be placed on every individual as a moral duty even when no one else is watching.  The ethics of sustainable living should no longer be seen as a personal choice certain individuals make, but a moral obligation for all.  In the same way we have the duty to not pollute common discourse with slurs or epithets, we maintain a similar responsibility to not pollute or waste the physical world around us.  As with all duty ethics, where to draw the line of a personal duty is the fundamental issue; en masse burning of fossil fuels clearly is destructive and thus not morally permissible when other energy alternatives exist, but should the same energy be applied to a person to adopt low-flow faucets and take shorter showers?  This issue requires at least an article unto itself, but the purpose of this piece is simply to convince the reader of their duty to the environment.  

In David Wallace-Well’s piece “The Uninhabitable Earth,” he dissects the numerous ways climate change will, to be frank, screw us all in tremendous fashion.  He directly engages eight consequences from climate change which, as the name of the piece suggests, make the earth uninhabitable.  In addition to well-known effects such as sea-level rise, he points out the ocean will also become more poisonous as acid levels grow, “fry fish populations directly,” killing sea life which cannot adapt and causing illness and death for the coastal populations, which constitutes nearly half of the global population.  Peter Singer’s One World Now introduces the question of which nations hold the greatest responsibility to amend the atmosphere.  This national perspective, and similar ones about which companies are at fault, distracts from the greater issue that it is up to every individual to enact change in their life.  Countries (democracies at the very least) and companies follow the actions of their civilians and customers.  Clearly, there is little an average American citizen can do about the burning of fossil fuels in China, and thus the discussion of how to ensure the actions of another country do not doom us all is perfectly worthwhile.  What we have more direct control over however is what occurs in our lives.  Product choice and how a person lives their life is decided entirely or nearly entirely by that person.  

From a utilitarian perspective, living an unsustainable lifestyle deprives future generations, if not yourself, of future happiness for short-term enjoyment.  John Stuart Mill recognized this when formalizing his perspective on utilitarianism–the existence of higher and lower pleasures recognizes some forms of pleasure are more valuable than others.  In the case of sustainability, this would be akin to short term pleasure one gets when finding a cheap purchase made through immoral and unsustainable means, juxtaposed with the long term satisfaction of a more durable product, and one that leaves the user feeling as though they have contributed to very continuation of human society.  Blue Zones are areas of the world with a much higher life expectancy than average, and of the common traits among the five recognized Blue Zones is some life purpose.  This suggests humans long to feel as if they are part of something greater, something which gives them motivation beyond themselves to get out of bed every morning, and what greater sense of purpose exists than the continuation of mankind?

For the first few hundred thousand years of human existence, the primary struggle was scarcity of resources, and in under a hundred years that has flipped to now become the struggle of surplus.  Little thought was given to the ethics surrounding waste and environmental degradation as those were limited in scale by technology, and thus it has not been ingrained in every person with the same vigor as other ethical issues, or even as a moral issue at all.  We are quickly realizing the negative ramifications of this lackadaisical attitude and without a sharp mental adjustment of most of the world, this will likely be the only time we are able to make such a mistake.

 

 

Wallace-Wells, David. “The Uninhabitable Earth.” (July 10, 2017). New York Magazine. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/07/climate-change-earth-too-hot-for-humans.html 

 

Singer, Peter. One World: The Ethics of Globalization. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002. Print.

 

Mill, John Stuart. Utilitarianism. London, Parker, son, and Bourn, 1863. Web.. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <lccn.loc.gov/11015966>.

By: Annaliese White

Living in the Greenbelt Resident Community has given me so much insight into new sustainability practices and habits, it has taught me how to eat “Greener” and to love nature in all of its forms. One of my favorite past times while living in the Greenbelt has been picking some of the Wild Flowers that have grown in our backyard, as it has given me much joy having fresh, beautiful flowers all around our cabin. Through the teachings of my fellow Greenbelt residents, I have come to learn just how unsustainable green lawns are. Before being apart of this program, I never gave too much thought about the sustainability of most people’s lawns, as it never occurred to me that it could be harming the environment!

Not only are lawns expensive and can be a lot of upkeep work, but there are various aspects that go into taking care of a lawn that are pollute the environment. For example, the burning of gasoline in lawn mowers, toxic pesticides and fertilizer which pollute the water sources, and the vast quantity of water that is wasted by sprinklers. The gasoline burned in the lawn mowers contribute to the greenhouse gases, which is hurting our atmosphere. Another harmful effect of so many homeowners planting grass lawns is that it causes other forest life, like weeds and many other plants to be ripped out of the ground, reducing their populations.

One of the main benefits of having a wildflower garden or meadow instead of a grassy lawn is that wildflowers are easier to care for and do not require the consistent watering or maintenance that green lawns need. Having a wildflower garden also increases biodiversity and allows for other species of plants and flowers to flourish. Also, having a meadow can attract wildlife such as deer to your yard which would allow them to feed without worrying about any external threats. Overall the benefits of having a wildflower garden greatly outweigh the pros and cons of having a grass lawn, which is why more homeowners should make the switch to a wildflower garden or meadow!

 

Sources:

https://www.americanmeadows.com/replace-lawn-with-wildflowers

https://conservationtools.org/guides/151-from-lawn-to-meadow

http://www.gogreen.org/blog/the-environmental-impact-of-lawns

 

 

By: Sydney McManus

Throughout the 2020-21 Academic Year, I have been faced with many opportunities to grow and learn as a member of a sustainable community. I have grown not only as a member of Greenbelt and the community that has been established here, but also through academics, club involvement, and my Shi Institute Fellowship. From learning about sustainable living through Greenbelt classes, reading books about the pressing issues of modern consumption and production in my Environmental Health course, and recognizing and promoting global initiatives through fellowship events and more, I have continued to find that sustainability is so much more than shorter showers, making a switch to a vegan or vegetarian diet, or anything else we often associate with the stigma of sustainability. Sustainability is pervasive in all sectors of our lives but embodies consideration beyond ourselves, a concept that often gets away from us.

 

Coming to Furman just one, almost two, short years ago, sustainability was not on my radar, yet here I am a couple of years later, enthralled with the idea of sustainability, living in a community which not only includes the best housing on Furman’s campus, but also a group of individuals who appreciate the idea of a focus beyond ourselves, directing that focus toward a global awareness and consideration of the wellbeing of all people, animals, and the environment, something that recently has come to my attention to be known as “One Health.”

 

One Health is defined by the CDC, which we are all too familiar with in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic, as “a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach—working at the local, regional, national, and global levels—with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Throughout the past two semesters, I have had the opportunity to apply sustainability to my life and education leading me in the direction of “One Health” without even realizing it.

 

Through conscious thought devoted to the impact I am having on the environment and my greater community; I regularly reflect on how my actions are impacting those around me who may not have the luxury of focusing on anything beyond survival. From disproportionate environmental burdens associated with issues of environmental justice and concepts like the Tragedy of the Commons a concept that embodies the idea that people behave in a way that pursues their own interest, desire, and need without consideration of wide-spread needs and long-term effects (Hardin, 1968), I have begun to truly learn and further develop my recognition of the scope of sustainability.

 

I could talk for days about all the things I have learned within Greenbelt, from my community members who have become my friends, and through my classes the past two semesters, but I will spare us all the lengthy discussion that comes with the excitement that is invoked when I think about the scope and growth to come from sustainability focus and initiatives. But with the end of the semester, and my time in the Greenbelt I will share this, find a community that encourages and grows with you, find an aspect of sustainability that excites you, and always think beyond your own four walls and remember as Greta Thunberg said, “Homo Sapiens have not yet failed. Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around. We can still fix this. We still have everything in our own hands.” (Thunberg, 2021)

 

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, April 16). One Health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/index.html.

Hardin, G. (1968). The Tragedy of the Commons. Science, 162(3859), 1243–1248. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.162.3859.1243

Thunberg, G. (2021). No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference. Random House UK.

By Annika Patterson

As Furman students, one of the many advantages of our gorgeous campus are the thriving populations of animals that cohabit with us. Whether in reference to the ducks and fish in the lake, the squirrels and birds in the trees and the hundreds of insects that illicit a variety of reactions, all of these lives are so precious and each gives back to our ecosystem in ways we seldom acknowledge. 

Biodiversity is a topic that is close to my own heart as I have always loved and cared for animals. In the courses I have taken at Furman I have had the opportunity to learn even more about the terrible ways climate change has already, and will continue to affect our earth’s biodiversity. The Planetary boundaries, a term familiar to any fellow students of sustainability classes here at Furman, are a scientific-based framework for the analysis of the risk that humans are contributing to at which some point will destabilize the entirety of the earth system. Basically, a measurable scale in which we can determine the long term effects humans production and consumption are having on different systems of the earth, and boundaries in which we have established to try and avoid crossing to avoid this. As we are standing currently on this scale, globally we have more than crossed the planetary boundary for biodiversity loss. The boundary was set at less than 10 extinctions per million species year and in the holocene alone we can track a loss of 10-100 extinctions per million species year, a loss that resembles mass extinctions in millennia past.

The planetary boundaries are all connected in balancing each other out and further pushing each other towards a tipping point. This is shown in how species richness, a measurable subsection of biodiversity that is simply the number of different species, is important for the maintenance of the biosphere. The diversity of a number of species helps balance out ecosystems and provides a necessary resilience.

An example of nature and how it usually balances itself, and our reliance on such, is the disaster that is the Furman lake. A man made lake from the foundation of this location back in the 80s, it has been slowly deteriorating ever since. Constant projects over the years have aimed to restore the lake to a less sediment filled pool for disease has thus far been unachievable. The Furman lake is small in comparison to the majority of lakes i’ve visited in my life, and those naturally made lakes (whether or not a dam has been added) have been majorly self sustaining in the bacterial level up to the birds that fish there. This is no coincidence, nature is a self sustaining system and left alone it has the opportunity to flourish. 

While leaving our communities wildlife alone isn’t an easy feat in a city like Greenville, programs for conservation and clean up are important for taking back the blows humanity has made against them. It is important as an individual to make large scale change in advocating for and voting in favor of programs that will preserve our local biodiversity and on a small scale doing what you can in your own neighborhood. Protecting the environment of a single animal can have impacts on the ecosystem we can’t predict, so do your part!

 

Sources

-https://greenvillejournal.com/op-ed/letter-to-the-editor-we-must-preserve-biodiversity/

-https://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/lpr_living_planet_report_2016.pdf

-https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/cas-biodiversity/why-is-biodiversity-important-ca/biodiversity-and-ecosystem-funct/v/biodiversity-ecosystems-and-ecological-networks?modal=1

 

People often like taking care of plants for various reasons. Take me and my army of plants for example. They make my room more vibrant and I assume the responsibility of taking care of them. Others may have plants instead of pets. Then there are other that may say they do not have a “green thumb” or are just not cut out for having plants, but that is not true. Anyone can have a healthy plant if they do a little bit of research first and are willing to water them.

Choosing an indoor plant

When choosing an indoor plant, there are a few basic things to take into consideration:

• How much water does this plant need?
• How much sunlight does this plant need?
• What is the average temperature this plant thrives in?
• Is the plant poisonous to pets?

These are the main four components I always reference when choosing a plant. To go into more detail about each label, here is a picture to show the differences in the types of sunlight a plant needs and what I do for watering. If you feel confident about this part, feel free to skip to the next section.

Determining the amount of water

This part can be confusing as it is sometimes hard to know the exact amount of water a plant needs. It can also be difficult to always give a plant the same amount of water. I personally use ice cubes as a way to measure the amount of water I am giving to a plant. If a plant shows sign of underwatering, add another ice cube next time it is watered. If a plant shows signs of overwatering, decrease the number of ice cubes. It is important to say that a plant will not die immediately from overwatering it or underwatering as long as the amount of water is adjusted.

Signs of overwatering or underwatering

Overwatering

• Leaves will turn a yellow or whitish color and some leaves may fall off the plant. The leaves will not shrivel up before falling off.

Underwatering

• Leaves will turn a yellow or whitish color and some leaves may also fall off the plant. These leaves DO shrivel up before falling off. By shriveling up, I mean the leaves will get extremely brittle and/or they may turn brown or lose their color.

 

 

Last minute takeaways on sunlight and water

• Make sure you have the right conditions for a plant to live it. It may take trial and error.
• If a plant is not receiving enough sunlight, the leaves may also fall off the plant, so move it to a brighter place.
• If a plant is receiving too much sunlight, the leaves may turn white at the tips, so move it to a shadier place.

 

 

 

 

Types of Plants to Choose

This is the best part about having plant- getting the choose one!

Home Depot and Lowes often have a good selection of plants. They are fairly healthy and most are fairly easy to grow. I have found most ivy, bamboo, and basic ferns are easy beginner plants. For a list of other plants for beginners, check out these two websites:

• https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/gardening/advice/g1285/hard-to-kill-plants/
• https://bloomscape.com/green-living/9-easiest-houseplants-anyone-can-grow/

Plants to Avoid

• If you have any pets, make sure to check if the plant is pet friendly and are not poisonous to pets if ingested. From my experience, some animals (especially cats) enjoy biting leaves.
• For beginners, I recommend avoiding orchids and venus fly traps as they are often hard to keep alive.

 

Sources

-https://wallygro.com/blogs/feature/essential-watering-guide

-https://bloomscape.com/green-living/9-easiest-houseplants-anyone-can-grow/

-https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/gardening/advice/g1285/hard-to-kill-plants/

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn1qOBOiPNc

With over 60% of 18+ Americans drinking coffee everyday, it is important that we consume in an ethical and sustainable manner. My own personal coffee recipe is an iced coffee with oat milk, brown sugar, and cinnamon. There are some very easy swaps that can be made in order to make your daily coffee more sustainable!

First the basics: Avoid single use plastics.

On the go:

It can be very convenient to pick up a Starbucks drink, and throw the cup out, but bringing a reusable cup is one easy way to reduce waste at Starbucks. To go coffee cups don’t have to be fancy and expensive either, an old mason jar is a great transport option, as are your daily use cups if you don’t mind not having a lid! 

Buying coffee on the go can often mean bottled drinks. If you must choose these as your drink, try to choose a glass or aluminium container as they are more recyclable.

To avoid even more environmental impacts, make your coffee at home, and you won’t have to buy a fancy new coffee cup or generate waste. 

 

At Home:

One major thing to avoid when making your coffee at home are disposable K-Cups. Tens of billions of these plastic cups have ended up in our landfills. The convenience of a single cup coffee brewer is undeniable, so making the swap to a reusable cup is an easy way to dramatically reduce the waste that you are producing. Another single cup brewing option that is low waste is a reusable pour over. Mine is made of stainless steel and does not require a filter, but others can be ceramic or glass and some need a paper filter. A benefit of this coffee brewing method is that the only waste produced can be composted. If you are a heavy coffee drinker and one cup is not enough, making one large pot of coffee is more sustainable (and convenient). A French press is a great way to make a pot of coffee with little waste, and traditional coffee pots are a classic as well. There are many low waste methods of brewing coffee that you can tailor to your lifestyle.

 

The Beans:

Choosing the coffee itself can feel like a total crapshoot, there are so many options and so many different labels claiming different things. 

At the grocery store, look for fair trade certifications. Many large grocery stores carry local roasting companies and finding woman-owned or black-owned coffee options is becoming easier and easier. Supporting small companies is preferable to choosing a Foldgers, Starbucks, or Dunkin Donuts blend, even though the name is more familiar. 

One way that I ensure I am getting sustainable coffee is to buy beans from my favorite local coffee shops. Many sell the same beans that they use to make their drinks, and baristas can give you plenty of information on it. Independently owned cafés also often have specifically chosen roasting companies that they buy beans from, meaning that more information on the brand should be available. This ensures a delicious cup of coffee, and you are supporting local businesses.

 

The Creamer:

Since black coffee is undeniably an acquired taste, most people opt to add a creamer. Choosing a plant milk over cow’s milk dramatically decreases the environmental impact of one cup of coffee. Flavored coffee creamers are a popular favorite, but tend to be made with unsustainably harvested ingredients like palm oil. An easy way to replace these flavored creamers is to make your own. Infused syrup recipes are all over the internet and can be added to a plant milk of your choice.

 

This past weekend, I decided to do an art project by building a plant stand from scratch with my uncle Kirk. The process took a grand total of four days to complete, but it was well worth it to have a new piece of furniture. After designing the plant stand, we both decided to use reclaimed wood that Kirk had gathered over the past couple of years. Using the reclaimed wood was seen as a way to decrease deforestation and reduce landfill waste that had accumulated over time (Elemental Green). 

The reclaimed wood we used does not contain as many harmful toxins that can enter the atmosphere as normal store-bought wood. Similarly, reclaimed wood is more durable in accordance to the Janka hardness scale than regular wood because it is used from older grown trees instead of more recently grown trees (Elemental Green). Another benefit of using reclaimed wood is that the wood looks aged, which is a bonus for someone, such as myself, who likes the antique aesthetic! 

After the plant stand was cut into each of its separate pieces, Kirk and I stained the wood and let it dry for about 24 hours. The stain color I used was called espresso, which is a dark brown color. To also reduce the use of emitting toxic chemicals such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), we used an environmentally friendly brand called ECOS Paints. Their paint stains use non-toxic chemicals so that people with health problems can be physically and environmentally safe. VOCs are similar to what is typically in paint stains that cause health problems and emission of petroleum air pollution, so using ECOS Paints was more sustainable to use on the reclaimed wood (ECOS Paints). 

The most tedious process of making the plant stand was coating the stained wood four times with water based polyurethane, which is a more environmentally safe way to make the plant stand waterproof and have a shiny appearance. Water based polyurethane is better than oil based polyurethane because it does not emit high amounts of VOCs either. The oil based substance releases petroleum based carcinogens into the atmosphere, which yet again, causes severe health defects (Gemini Floor Services). On the other hand, oil based polyurethane is a very flammable substance, hence why the water based polyurethane is a better route to making a sufficiently waterproof plant stand. The water based polyurethane is a more durable substance because its compound has a “greater resistance to abrasion” (Gemini Floor Services). The water based polyurethane also dries faster than the oil based polyurethane because using more layers of thin coats is a more efficient way to assemble any piece of furniture quicker while releasing less chemicals into the air. Overall, the process of creating the plant stand with my uncle was a very enjoyable process while also being sustainable! 

 

“The Advantages of Water Based Polyurethane Floor Finish.” Gemini Floor Services, 29 July 2019, www.geminifloors.com/the-advantages-of-water-based-polyurethane-floor-finish/.

“Why You Should Use Non-Toxic Wood Stain.” ECOS Paints, ECOS Paints, 29 July 2015, www.ecospaints.net/why-you-should-use-non-toxic-wood-stain.

“The Pros and Cons of Using Reclaimed Wood.” Elemental Green, 1 Mar. 2021, https://elemental.green/the-pros-and-cons-of-using-reclaimed-wood/.