Sustainability & Environment

Sifting finished compost separates ready humus from chunks that need more time. Here’s when it’s worth the effort, what mesh size works, and how to handle the screened-out bits.

Hosting 12-20 people for Thanksgiving without disposable plates, cups, and napkins is doable — but only with a realistic plan that accepts a few compostable trade-offs.

Composting on an apartment balcony has unique constraints — limited space, neighbor proximity, building rules, smell sensitivities, and exposure to wind and weather. Six different setups handle these constraints in different ways, each with specific trade-offs that match different apartment situations.

Veterans Day ceremonies and memorials traditionally use plastic flags, foam wreaths, vinyl banners, and synthetic flowers — items that produce significant landfill waste after the brief commemoration period. Compostable alternatives exist for nearly every element while preserving the visual gravity and respect the occasion deserves.

Plant-based sourcing — procurement focused on plant-based ingredients reducing animal product reliance — has expanded from specialty practice to mainstream B2B consideration. Understanding plant-based sourcing fundamentals supports informed sustainability strategy and customer-facing communication.

Composting and waste handling in the backcountry follows different rules than at home. Cathole etiquette for human waste, compostable wipes that genuinely work in wilderness conditions, food scrap handling, and the Leave No Trace principles all matter for low-impact camping. Here’s the practical guide.

Standard composting guides usually say no to meat and bones. The reality is more nuanced — these materials CAN be composted, but the system you use matters. Backyard piles, hot composters, Bokashi, and municipal organics all handle meat and bones differently. Here’s the practical guidance for each.

The standard advice for kitchen composting is to keep a countertop bin and empty it daily or every few days. The freezer-storage alternative — keeping a frozen container of scraps and emptying once weekly on bin day — is often a better fit for the realities of busy households. Here’s why.

A backyard picnic with friends or family doesn’t have to mean stacks of plastic plates and cups for the trash bag at the end. With a 12-item setup of reusable and compostable items, the same picnic produces zero landfill waste at not much more cost than the disposable version.

Compostable packaging — bagasse plates, kraft cups, palm leaf bowls — is harder to photograph well than glossy plastic alternatives. The natural materials need different lighting, different backgrounds, and different styling to look as appealing as plastic does in catalog shots. Here’s the practical photography guide.

Composting in a shared apartment, group house, or co-op means navigating roommates with different commitment levels, shared kitchen space, and disposal logistics that work for everyone. The systems that hold up under group living conditions are different from solo setups.

Disposable cleaning wipes are one of the worst products from a waste perspective — synthetic fibers, chemical-laden, billions sent to landfill annually. Cutting up an old cotton T-shirt into reusable cleaning wipes solves the problem for about $0 and 10 minutes of work.