The Little Things That Trip Me Up

Here's the thing about sustainable choices--there's always something tripping me up. I pack a snack for my daughter in a reusable container. The class has snack outdoors and is not allowed to bring anything that can't be chucked in the garbage. I ride my bike to the farmers market. No bike rack. I get the newspaper delivered once a week so that I can use it as mulch for my garden and bedding for the worms. It comes in a plastic bag.

Yes, there are answers to all these things, but each solution requires an extra step, a little more thought and effort, and I think that's where many of us just say forget it, because after about the fortieth incident during the day of trying to make sustainable choices, and frankly, having many other pressing needs, we've just about had it.

So, I'm hoping this post can make a couple things easier for you with some solutions I've discovered recently.

1. Ask the manager or owner. If you encounter a situation that doesn't seem "solvable" at a place of business, speak to someone in charge. You may be surprised how easy a solution is. Here are a couple recent examples from my life:

* We've been having this nagging eco-challenge. My husband likes Dunkin Donuts coffee. He simply doesn't like making it at home. He likes to get it at DD, but DD uses styrofoam cups. Dekalb County doesn't recycle styrofoam, for reasons I don't yet understand. We already wasted too much money on reusable mugs that he hated for various reasons. I contacted DD's corporate headquarters to see if an alternative to styrofoam was available and was told that the "cup decision" is made on a local basis. I talked to the manager, Raz, and was told that I could request coffee in a latte cup, which is recycleable in Dekalb County. And so that's what I've been doing. If you do this and are questioned, tell the cashier that Raz said to do this, and be careful you're not charged that exhorbitant latte cost. Perhaps if enough people do this, Raz will invest in cardboard cups for all the coffee and not just lattes.

* There is a very nice lady named Emily who is passionate about the jams she and her friend Gina make and sell at the Spruill Farmers market. They use many fruits and vegetables from local farmers in their jams, but all the ingredients are not organic, and so I choose not to buy them. However, I like what they are doing and I got to talking with Emily yesterday at the market. She said that she would make a special order of 100% organic jam for anyone who wants it as long as you purchase the whole "run" (which would be approximately 4-8 jars, depending on that jam's particular recipe). This would cost more than the 5-8 dollars each jar currently costs because of the higher cost of organic sugar, but could be worth it to you if 100% organic matters to you. My friend, who was with me at the time, offered to split a run with me. So this one sounds like an easy solution to me that resulted from a simple conversation.

So talk to business owners and you may be surprised what you can work out.

2. Let someone else find the solutions for you. I discovered a local (Stone Mountain-area) entrerepeneur named Beth Remmes who started a company named Zola Goods that sells eco-solutions to everyday challenges. I interviewed her the other day and was impressed with her philosophy and knowledge. Here is my FoodShed Planet post about it today. You may find some easy solutions to your everyday eco-challenges here.

Are you having any other pesty "trip-ups" in trying to make more sustainable choices? Share your challenges and let's see if we can discover some solutions together.