Could you imagine living in a zero waste city? The small town of Kamikatsu is a place where the people manage to divert essentially all of their waste from the landfill.
At the end of each module in our new course, Road to Zero Waste, we share a handful of additional resources to support your learning. We’ve compiled them in one place for easy access.
Even after transitioning almost all of my traditional household products to zero waste alternatives AND committing to shopping primarily secondhand AND learning how to grow my own food AND thinking about how to be a more conscious consumer 24/7, trash still happens.
This summer, during a community event all about the circular economy and the Right to Repair movement hosted by the Black-led environmental justice group, Basilica Bio, we dug into the barriers and challenges that stand in the way of creating a more circular economy. We also shared a selection of local examples and resources to help folks feel empowered to take action locally.
For their annual Juneteenth Celebration this year, the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) collaborated with Reuse Seattle to bring reusable dishware to its food trucks. Our team at Blue Daisi Consulting led the planning and coordination for this event to ensure this collaborative effort was a success.
Situated among breweries and climbing gyms on the southeastern edge of Fremont, you’ll find the North Transfer Station. Driving down 34th, the facility is unassuming, its large concrete walls tucked away behind carefully manicured trees and shrubs, its pedestrian entrance outfitted with a sprawling sculpture of orange metal. I’ve walked by the building a handful of times on my way to the Seattle Bouldering Project, strolling through a small garden on its eastern side, never knowing what I was passing.
The Blue Daisi Book Club by Kira Telgen, Blue Daisi’s Project Assistant
Our first book was “A Zero Waste Life in Thirty Days” by Anita Vandyke. Kira reminds us that incorporating zero waste habits into our daily life in whatever ways we can is not only a pathway to living a more sustainable life but also one for connecting with others in our community at a time where it’s more important than ever.
The delegation was on a tour of major global cities to learn about sustainability practices to guide policymaking in Japan, and Seattle was one of their stops.
I visited a local recycling center in Woodinville in August 2024 through a tour hosted by Zero Waste Washington and I have some thoughts…
People often ask me about what they can do to live more sustainable lives. Many of us try our best, which is noble considering that we live within imperfect and extractive systems that make living in complete alignment with our values a somewhat impossible feat.
ENJOY YOUR ENVIRONMENT: Dig your hands into the soil. Inhale some fresh air. Dip your toes in cool water. Take a walk around the block. Have you ever gone birdwatching or mushroom hunting? Make the time to enjoy all the wonderful things our planet has to offer.
If you’re looking for thoughtful gift ideas, look no further! This season is filled with pressure to spend more than we have and it ends up being the most wasteful time of year. We can find alternative ways to show our loved ones how much we care. One idea to experiment with this year is to choose gifts using love languages as a guide. Feel free to combine ideas from this list into a customized gift that your loved ones will deeply appreciate.
Let’s talk trash for a moment. The average American sends ~4.5 pounds of waste to the landfill every single day. This includes textiles, paper, plastic packaging, old electronics, rotting food, and much more. This amounts to nearly 300 million tons of waste collecting in American landfills each year.
When it comes to sustainability, one of the first words that comes to mind is most likely recycling. We know we’re supposed to “reduce, reuse, and recycle” but sometimes it feels easier said than done. We were told that much of the stuff that would otherwise become litter could be melted down or shredded up and made into something new.
I sat down with Sasha Mazur, owner of Green Life Trading Co. at a local coffee shop. We talked about why she decided to start an online zero waste retail store, why it's important to her to operate a business that aligns with her values, and how GLTC is helping people be better for the planet.
I spoke with Dee Hunter, owner of Rooted Curbside Compost, to ask all my burning questions about running a composting business. Dee offers services to residential and commercial clients in the Madison area who are looking to reduce the organic waste that they send to the landfill. She then turns this waste into nutrient-rich compost on her farm in Barneveld, Wisconsin.
I had a conversation with Laurel Burleson, owner and chef at Ugly Apple Cafe. We talked about her most interesting recipe, what makes her food cart unique, and how she's working to save as many "ugly" fruits and veggies as possible.
i chatted with kristy kleist, the owner and designer of swoon swimwear. she creates stylish swimsuits in milwaukee, wisconsin. we talked about why she avoids outsourcing her production to sweatshops, her favorite suit that she sells, and her plans to continue to operate her business ethically and sustainably. kristy’s swimsuits are especially great because they are reversible, so you get two suits for the price of one!
I met with the co-creators of Rowan Tree Bath Works, Trisha Lundquist and LeeAnn Abrams. We discussed why they chose to use olive oil as their soap's main ingredient, what local ingredients they use in their products, and why it's important to read the labels on your beauty products.
Donale richards is the manager of off the block (otb) enterprises in madison, wisconsin and a 2018 sustain dane live forward awardee. in this second part of our conversation, donale explains his definition of sustainability and his future career aspirations.
Donale Richards is the manager of Off the Block (OTB) Enterprises in Madison, Wisconsin and a 2018 Sustain Dane Live Forward Awardee. We talked about what his path to OTB looked like, his passion for social entrepreneurship, and his part in creating community.
I spoke with Ben Brady, the General Manager of Miko Poke and Everly in Madison, WI. He told me all about Miko Poke's compostable packaging, sustainable seafood sourcing, and his career in the food industry.
I chatted with Ardis Burr of Up & Undies. She helps divert excess clothing from landfills by upcycling old t-shirts into new underwear. She shares why upcycling is important to her and the process to get your very own pair of undies!
Valerie Madison Fine Jewelry creates unique pieces from recycled metals and ethically sourced diamonds. She stands out in the sustainable jewelry industry by being an exceptionally talented Black Latina in the predominately white fine jewelry industry, but also because of her commitment to sustainability. Valerie shares how she got started, her inspiration, and the importance of creating everything in her city, Seattle.
Abena boamah is the founder of hanahana beauty. she shares how she started hanahana while she was in grad school, what she wishes she knew when she first started her sustainable beauty business, and the importance of building a true relationship with the women in ghana who supply the shea butter for her beauty products.
Lois Ko is the owner of Sweet Alchemy Ice Creamery which has two locations in Ballard and the U District in Seattle. in our conversation, she shares her journey from being an ice cream scooper to an organic ice cream shop owner, how she’s managed to reduce waste in her business, and her advice for other business owners...
Blendily is a skincare kitchen based in Portland, Oregon. We got to chat with founder, Ivy Chuang, who was motivated to create Blendily by her daughter’s birth...
Girlfriend Collective is a sustainable fashion brand based in Seattle. We got to learn more about their environmentally and socially responsible initiatives including their new closed loop manufacturing program, Girlfriend, in this interview...
According to a study by Great Forest, 77% of a business’s trash isn’t trash at all. We send valuable organic matter, paper, glass, metal, and more to the landfill when those materials could go to much better use...
Whenever I encounter someone new and share about the work that I do, I’m usually met with one of two reactions: 1) appreciation or 2) curiosity. I tell them I want to build a zero waste world, that I think about trash all day, and that every facet of sustainability is interconnected...
When I first stumbled across the zero waste movement, I was stunned. I was introduced to the concept via a viral video of a woman who could fit all of her trash into a sixteen-ounce mason jar...
Could you imagine living in a zero waste city? The small town of Kamikatsu is a place where the people manage to divert essentially all of their waste from the landfill.
At the end of each module in our new course, Road to Zero Waste, we share a handful of additional resources to support your learning. We’ve compiled them in one place for easy access.
