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Keepin’ it green
4/18/2012 12:19:06 PM
Splash Staff Writer
As Earth Day approaches this weekend, area residents are not only stepping out to show support for clean living but also as a way to reflect on importance of a healthy environment.
"It's a day to appreciate nature and the environment, and it's a good time to show how important it is," Liberty Lake resident Heather Chalich said. "It's there for everyone, and some of the things you can do for it benefit everyone."
Many of the answers to modern environmental dilemmas - less trash in landfills or cleaner air - start at home with simple decisions, she said. It could be deciding to walk to work one day or taking up recycling at home.
"People can do very small things that make a big difference," Chalich said. "When people make those small things a habit, it adds up over time. And when lots of people make those changes, it really adds up."
Refilling K-Cups
Just in the last few years, the Keurig coffee-making system has grown in popularity across the country with the single-serving coffee machines added to a growing number of offices and households. However, the system's signature single-serving packets - K-Cups - aren't recyclable.
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In Liberty Lake, Handcrafted Espresso owner and operator Ted Matsumura said he first started considering a K-Cup refill service after a few customers approached him looking for greener options at their offices.
"They kind of felt bad because they'd come down for coffee, and they'd look in the trash and see all these plastic cups piled up," Matsumura said.
He said quick research revealed about a dozen refillable solutions compatible with Keurig coffeemakers, so he set out to determine what would not only be best for the environment, but also what would make the best cup of coffee. The winner? Ekobrew - a cup that's able to hold almost double the amount of ground coffee as K-Cups.
From there, he worked with family to determine the optimal blend and coarseness for the refillable cups before marketing his service as a boutique brew for Keurig users.
"It's by no means a huge money maker," Matsumura said. "But I think everyone feels good about having options for fresher coffee, using greener methods, at about the same price as the previous, less-green options."
He said his service is gaining popularity with the tenants of the TierPoint building, where Handcrafted Espresso is based. Coffee available through the service usually has been roasted within four days and is usually ground the same day.
He fills up the Ekobrew cups and sends a couple home with customers, who return them for washing and refilling. Customers can purchase a $6 punch-card good for 10 refills. Matsumura introduced the service about a month ago.
"I really hope it catches on," Matsumura said. "Even if it's not me doing it, using refillable cups like these really makes a difference in the grand scheme of things."
Matsumura said he's willing to open up the service to the community. He said anyone who goes through a handful of K-Cups a day would be worth developing a delivery route for.
Composting
Splash photo by Kelly Moore
Liberty Lake resident Tom Brattebo stirs up the composting leaf pile at his home. He said he's been composting for about 14 years as a way to reduce the amount of trash he puts out.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, yard trimmings and food residuals together constitute 27 percent of America's waste stream. An estimated 57.5 percent of yard trimmings were recovered for composting in 2010, a dramatic increase from the 12 percent recovery rate in 1990. Accompanying this surge in yard waste recovery is a composting industry that has grown from less than 1,000 facilities in 1988 to more than 2,280 in 2010.
Locally, people like resident Tom Brattebo are making a dent with smaller, backyard operations. He said he's lived in Liberty Lake for about 14 years and has been composting the entire time.
"We deal with a lot of leaves at our house, and they just about all get mixed back into the ground," Brattebo said.
At his house, leaves are collected into a simple bin where they are stored until they've decomposed. Then they are used to enrich the soil in planting beds surrounding the house.
In contrast to the spike in yard trimmings recovery, the EPA reports that about 2.8 percent of food waste was composted in 2010. The cost-prohibitive nature of residential food waste separation and collection is the primary deterant to expanding food waste recovery efforts, but in many communities, edible food residuals are donated, while inedible food residuals are blended into compost or reprocessed into animal feed.
Brattebo said he keeps up his composting with a separate bin for food scraps simply to reduce the amount of trash going out of his house.
He said he'd encourage anyone interested in starting out to get a tumbler or any kind of aerated plastic bin and start filling it up. Essentially any organic material other than meat or dairy products can be added to compost, and time does all the work. He said he uses worms to help speed up the process, but they aren't mandatory.
"Just keep it damp and turn it a little to keep it mixed well, and that's all there really is to it," Brattebo said.
For more advanced composters, tools are available to help regulate and optimize the benefits of the final product. However, Brattebo stressed that, too, wasn't absolutely necessary - even for a composting veteran like him.
"I don't worry too much about the science," Brattebo said. "Nature seems to take care of that."
Keeping the community clean
Submitted photo
Family and friends of Heather Chalich have picked up litter along Liberty Lake community walking paths every Earth Day for the last 16 years.
For the past 16 years, Chalich has gathered family and friends for an Earth Day celebration that usually includes a cookout before heading out to pick up trash in the community.
"The environment and the health of the environment have always been important to me," Chalich said. "It's kind of funny because I always thought I was torturing my family making them go out to pick up trash, but one year I was sick and everyone was asking when we were going to go pick up trash."
She said over the years, the annual Earth Day clean-up has turned into something her family members look forward to as a practical way to make a difference. The group gathers in the afternoon and hits one of the local walking trails that run through the community. Sometimes, adults clean up near the roadway along Liberty Drive, but usually the kids stick to the trail area.
"Picking up trash is simple," Chalich said. "Even the kids can do it and understand why the area is better when it's clean."
Over the years, the family has collected countless plastic bottles for recycling. Last year, one of the outing members found what they think is the transmission to a car.
"Everything to me is connected, and that's a big part of why cleaning up litter is important," Chalich said. "Especially here in Liberty Lake, where we live near waterways like the lake and the river."
For Chalich and her family, the day caps a year's worth of efforts to reduce their environmental impact. This means year-round recycling and composting, donating lightly used things instead of throwing them away and trying to keep a minimalist mentality.
"These days, recycling is a good start," Chalich said. "When we started recycling - just doing jars and cans - I couldn't believe the difference it made in how much trash we were putting out. You can take baby steps that make big differences all along the way."