Sustainability In Your Ear

Earth911 explores the circular economy potential of subscription hot-water-as-a-service programs with Gordon Olson, cofounder and CEO of Fairfield, Montana-based Torii Industries. The startup is committed to making “green water heating available to all.” They are launching a “hot-water-as-a-service” business that provides customers with a newly patented water heater design that eliminates the oxidation issues caused by traditional metal heating elements. Available through a monthly subscription, the Torii water heater uses a carbon foam element to rapidly heat water to a uniform temperature — it’s more efficient than traditional water heating. The inline, tankless water heater is more energy-efficient than conventional tank heaters. It also connects to a WiFi network to help you track energy use and identify issues before they interrupt service -- Torii will deploy a plumber to fix a problem before it becomes evident to the homeowner.Olson explains how Torii plans to grow a network of local plumbers who can install and service subscription water heaters. While subscription business models for essential home products may challenge homeowners’ ideas about ownership, they promise to recapture the materials so that they can be recycled. The Torii app will also provide customers with guidance about their energy use.

Recyclops founder Ryan Smith has a vision for locally grown recycling services. The company's Uber-like on-demand residential, apartment and business recycling service is available in 16 states and adds three or more new cities every month. With pickups starting at $12 a month, customers can place plastic, paper, cardboard, glass and other recyclables in a single-use plastic bag provided by Recyclops on their curb for twice-monthly removal and recycling. Drivers make about $25 an hour before their costs, servicing a regular route of about 100 customer homes or businesses. Find out where Recyclops needs drivers.Ryan, who has been recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 innovator, shares how he developed Recyclops from an initial idea in 2013. The company responded to the pandemic, which shuttered recycling services across the country, with a plan to relaunch recycling in 100 cities. He describes why the company selected single-use plastic pickup bags over reusables and how Recyclops can support recovery of branded packaging to enable improved recovery rates of hard-to-recycle items. The opportunities for innovation in a flexible, on-demand approach to recycling are virtually unlimited. Because anyone could start their own Recyclops route by recruiting their neighbors, the company's app is a potential launching pad for a new, resilient and constantly evolving recycling infrastructure built from the grass-roots up. Check out how to get started at Recyclops.com.

Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe talks with Jon Chambers, cofounder of 8BillionTrees.com, which offers a variety of ways to “shop and erase your carbon footprint.” They've planted more than 6.4 million trees to date and make is simple to calculate how much CO2 your daily habits produce. For example, 8 Billion Trees provides tree-planting to offset your streaming video habit, a birthday party or your pet’s carbon footprint. Chambers and his cofounder Michael Powell set out to create “the most environmentally aware social enterprise on the planet.”

Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe explores the cultural barriers to a harmonious relationship with nature in conversation with author Philip Loring about his book, Finding Our Niche. Loring is the Arrell Chair in Food, Policy and Society at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. He writes that “reconciliation takes hard work at all levels, from federal governments to within individuals’ hearts and minds. It requires that we dismantle our existing, imbalanced systems of power and privilege, give the land back to Indigenous peoples and then trust, rather than fear, what these actions will mean for us settlers.” His meditative writing based on decades of research in indigenous communities is a pleasure to read, opening paths to discovering the sense of stewardship that humans must bring to their interactions with the environment if we are to recast our lifestyles. Phil discusses myth, metaphor and the shifts in thinking that can transform our relationship with nature. A climate optimist, Loring also talks about the value of speculative science fiction, including Star Trek, as humanity wrestles with its poor environmental record.

Earth911 talks with Eric Bjorling, Trek Bicycles' Director of Brand Marketing and Public Relations. He explains the sustainability commitments and business transformation ideas it published in its 2021 sustainability report. We found it one of the clearest and easy-to-understand examples of corporate environmental reporting. That's because it is also being used as an internal learning tool to create awareness of the goals among Trek employees globally.Trek is “just getting started” on “moving fast and taking real action to reduce our environmental impact," and shared 10 useful ideas it is putting into place, ideas that any business can learn from. Eric discusses how Trek's decision to slash its reliance on air freight by 75% before 2024, consolidating its shipments to retail bike shops to reduce transportation impacts, and its growing use of renewable energy have affected its business. We also cover the carbon footprints of Trek's most advanced bike lines, the Madone road bike and Marlin mountain bikes, which point to the environmental improvements that can be achieved using advanced materials, as well as the challenge of recycling aluminum, carbon fiber and plastics for reuse in new products. He also explains how the company launched the Trek Foundation to encourage the building of bike trails and bicycle-friendly infrastructure to get more people out of cars and onto bikes.If you've heard companies will see decreased profitability when they adopt greener practices, Bjorling's explanations about the savings Trek realized by transitioning to use more renewable energy -- it will use 100% renewable power sources by 2023 -- will give you plenty of ammunition to make the case to try it at your workplace.

Author, Business for Good Podcast host and The Better Meat Co. CEO Paul Shapiro joins Earth911 to explain prospects for clean meat made from fungi, animal cell cultures and plant-based proteins. The future of meat will involve far fewer animals raised on inhumane industrial farms, which are known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or “CAFOs.” In a CAFO, animals are packed into small spaces polluted by their own waste; it’s a horrible life that ends in terror. Better Meat has developed fungi-based protein, called Rhiza, that can augment beef, chicken, pork, turkey, fish and shellfish in recipes, lowering our own environmental impact and reducing the cruel treatment of animals. But the story only starts there, he explains how cultured meats grown from animals cells, known as clean meat, is more sanitary -- it is not exposed to viscera and fecal matter during slaughter, because there is no slaughter -- and can be produced at large scale within the decade.Paul argues that we need to stop subsidizing meat production and fund more research into meat alternatives. Like Big Oil, Big Meat has an unfair advantage that can be turned toward incentives for clean meat. Meat consumption is on the rise globally and in the U.S. we consume 9 billion chickens, 32.2 million cattle, 241.7 million turkeys and 121 million hogs annually, according to the North American Meat Institute. That’s about 100 billion pounds of meat annually. By contrast, clean meat alternatives still account for less than 1% of the meat sold in the U.S. There's a long road ahead, and this interview is an opportunity to meet an early leader is the post-industrial meat movement.

Herbicide-Free Campus is a growing student-led movement to eliminate the use of harmful herbicides, pesticides and other toxins on college and public school campuses. We can all learn from the experience of founders Mackenzie Feldman and Bridget Gustafson, who were student-athletes at the University of California, Berkeley when they started the organization. It now has chapters at seven universities, along with communities at 13 other schools. Mackenzie and Bridget began by forging a local community around concerns about glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup. They started Herbicide-free Campus in 2017 when their volleyball team offered to help weed the grounds at UC Berkeley in exchange for the grounds staff stopping the use of herbicide near the volleyball practice area they used. Partnering with the groundskeeping staff, who were the most directly impacted group, was critical to their success. Within four years had eliminated virtually all herbicide use at Berkeley, protecting workers, students and the insect and animal population. Take a few minutes to read the Earth911 article by Mackenzie and Bridget, Herbicide Free Campus: Student-led Environmental Advocacy, in which they share their ideas about organizing and expanding a community organization, first in college and then as activist alumni. Also, check out Mackenzie's podcast, Agenda 23. You'll find actionable ideas and more information about the environmental and health impacts of glyphosate and other commonly used chemicals that are better off retired and forgotten.

Sometimes the recycling setup is harder than getting your daily recycling sorting and cleaning done. Our guest, Harold Sokyrka developed the Kwik BagIt system, which includes reusable cloth bags and collapsible bag holders that keep the bags conveniently upright for easy filling, to make recycling easier and sorting more accurate. After becoming frustrated with available bins and bags, Sokyrka, who is a longtime inventor, worked for three years on the designs of the Kwik BagIt system, which is available in four models, the Yardpal, Outback and Sports models, along with Pro versions for construction sites and hospitals. He also offers several sizes of the reusable bags made of recycled PET bottles that are designed to dry quickly and reduce odor, and which can be washed.Kwik Bagit is available online and through a novel local fund-raising program, Kwik BagIt Closed-Loop Rewards, for churches and community organizations. He's also working to develop local municipal waste partnerships to make the holders and bags available to home recyclers. If your back is killing you after sorting your recycling, take a look at Kwik Bagit.

The ChangeIt app for iPhone and Android devices promises to help "busy people that want to fight climate change." Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe talks with ChangeIt creator Tiago Ferreira about how he designed the app, why it avoids calculating the user's total carbon footprint, and how early users are engaging with climate goals and the community. The app is designed to coach users through adopting new habits, including sharing good ideas, and unlike other apps does not first walk the user through calculating their carbon footprint. Tiago tied ChangeIt into the Discord chat app to support a growing community of users, and because Discord is popular with younger gamers we think it provides an interesting entry point to learning about sustainability. You can find Android and iPhone versions of the app at https://changeit.app/

Earth911 explores the health implications and regulation of a substance that pollutes our food, water, and environment, Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, with Lauren Olson, Zero Waste Manager at World Centric. Lauren shares how PFAS are used in food service items, waterproof clothing and other products, as well as the challenges they create when composting products. PFAS have been associated with many health problems, including immune system disorders, high blood pressure, liver disease and kidney and testicular cancer. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill from Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell to regulate and require labels on products and packaging that contain PFAS, which are also known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down for decades or centuries in landfills, compost piles or the environment. Take a few minutes to learn about the status of Rep. Dingell's legislation, the sources of opposition, and how to recognize when a product might contain PFAS.