Episode Summary: In this engaging episode, we let the conversation flow organically, leading us into discussions on various aspects of sustainability.  

 Topics range from paper recycling to the proliferation of thick plastic cups in markets and the visual impact of disposable coffee cups in cafes.  

 We also examine the environmental footprint of disposable water bottles versus reusable cups and bags, questioning the overproduction of popular items like the colorful Stanley cups.  

 Additionally, we brainstorm innovative business models for umbrellas, exploring ideas around recirculation and sponsorship.  

 Tune in as we navigate the complexities of sustainable consumption. 

 For more information on the project and to order your copy of the Carbon Almanac (one of Amazon best-selling books of the year!), visit  thecarbonalmanac.org 

Want to join in the conversation? 

Visit thecarbonalmanac.org/podcasts and send us a voice message on this episode or any other climate-related ideas and perspectives. 

Don’t Take Our Word For It, Look It Up! 

-----  

Featuring Carbon Almanac Contributors Leekei Tang, Brian Tormey, Jenn Swanson, Rob Slater, and Kristina Horning  

Leekei is a fashion business founder, a business coach, an international development expert, and podcaster from Paris, France.  

Brian is a Real Estate Title Insurance Professional and Goat Farmer in the US.  

From Langley in British Columbia, Canada, Jenn is a Minister, Coach, Writer, and community Connector, helping people help themselves.  

Rob is from Birmingham in the UK, he is an orthodontist, triathlete, coach, and podcaster. 

Kristina has a background in architecture and engineering. Currently in Prague (that it is where she is originally from) and her base is US. 

-----  

The CarbonSessions Podcast is produced and edited by Leekei Tang, Steve Heatherington and Rob Slater. 

Hi, I'm Christina.

2

I'm from Prague.

3

Hi, I'm Jen, and I'm from Canada.

4

Hi, I'm Oladunji, and I'm from Nigeria.

5

Hello, I'm Liki, and I live in Paris.

6

Hi, I'm Brian, and I'm from New York.

7

Welcome to Carbon Sessions.

8

A podcast with Carbon Conversations

for every day with everyone

9

from everywhere in the world.

10

In our conversations, we share ideas,

perspectives, questions, and things we

11

can actually do to make a difference.

12

So don't be shy and join our Carbon

Sessions because it's not too late.

13

The thing I was going to share was I

watched, it was sort of a documentary,

14

it was a short little YouTube video,

like 20 minutes put on by a paper

15

company called a Weyerhaeuser paper,

which is where it's just a big.

16

manufacturer.

17

It's a big timber company here in the U.

18

S.

19

with lots of land holdings, but they make,

among many things, lots of paper towels,

20

printing paper, all those kind of things.

21

And it was a deconstruction of the paper

recycling and cardboard recycling process.

22

And they just really like talk through

like how they do it, how it all comes

23

in, like all the process, right?

24

And one of the things I found really

interesting that was just a learning

25

moment for me, which was contrary

to like wisdom I'd been given, was

26

there's a person here who's in charge

of, you know, this woman's in charge

27

of this huge paper recycling plant.

28

And she says into the camera, she

says, please give us all of your paper.

29

We don't care if it

has pizza grease on it.

30

We don't care if it has this.

31

We don't.

32

And she like named and

listed all these things.

33

And she said, we want it.

34

And here's why.

35

And she like talked back a little bit

about some of like, because those fibers

36

that are in that pizza box, are actually

still long format fibers, and we need

37

more of those to make printing paper.

38

And then when printing paper is a

little bit less fiber, but then that

39

gets broken down, then we make paper

towels or toilet, but you know, like,

40

and, but it was this not admonishment,

but it was this reminder moments.

41

That she was like, don't not put

something into your paper or cardboard

42

recycling bin because it's messy or dirty.

43

She was like, we're really good at this.

44

We've got all the systems and things

that will pull out plastic and staples

45

and pizza grease and food tidbits.

46

Like we will solve for all that.

47

We're good at this.

48

Just give us your stuff because I

routinely, I don't know about you all,

49

but I routinely will find myself with,

you know, where people will put things not

50

in the recycle bin because it's greasy,

messy, has staples, has tape on it.

51

I, you know, myself, I take the time and

tear every piece of tape, you know, like

52

the plastic y tape off my, you know.

53

Harbor recycling things.

54

And so that almost just feels like this

lesson, similar to, you know, these

55

other lessons we were talking about.

56

I don't, Rob, I think we're gonna

have to leave it to you to change

57

the outcome of the Invisalign.

58

You and your industry, I don't think the

average consumer will change the outcome.

59

Although maybe the consumers

will say, I want a seaweed one,

60

you know, like maybe they will.

61

Anyway, just a thought, just a

little thing that I was intrigued

62

by, that it feels like the

listeners could be like, Oh, really?

63

I didn't know that.

64

I think with, um, the, uh, the, the

Invisalign thing, it's, uh, I've

65

spoken to my colleagues and when

I talked to 'em about it, I think

66

the, the thing that I wanna get

across is that the important thing,

67

thing is that we're honest about it.

68

And the, when I gave the the

talk recently, the person who

69

was talking in front of me was

talking about their experience

70

with a particular aligner system.

71

And I knew that a big part of my talk

was going to be about aligners, and so I

72

didn't want to embarrass him by standing

up and saying all about the aligners.

73

So when I started to talk about the

aligners, there was a bit of an elephant

74

in the room here, and I said, Now, I

don't want to be seen as a hypocrite

75

because I use aligners, I do use them.

76

Um, and the most important thing

is that we're honest about it, that

77

we are using aligners, and there is

all this plastic that we're using.

78

Because if we're honest about it, then

that's fine, but if we're not, and we

79

try to hide it, then we become complicit.

80

At least if we talk about it,

then it gives us the opportunity.

81

Um, to create the situation where industry

can change at the end of the talk, there

82

were people who are actually saying, I'm

actually going to bring up sustainability

83

as part of our audit processes.

84

So, the Royal London Hospital, one

of the guys there is actually going

85

to bring that up at the Royal London.

86

And that was, that was really, uh,

I thought things like that coming

87

outta that talk, um, were, were

hopefully gonna be quite helpful.

88

Yeah.

89

I think there are things

changing, uh, in, uh, the markets.

90

I go to Saturday markets in Prague,

and I would say 2, 2, 3 years ago,

91

they changed the law that in the

market, when they serve hot wine.

92

or coffee or any kind of drinks.

93

They have these plastic cups you guys were

talking about before from thick plastic.

94

And so you buy the cup and you can

bring it back either dirty or clean,

95

doesn't matter, but you can bring

it back and, uh, uh, get the either

96

refund or new drink in a clean cup.

97

And I was worried when they

started that people won't do it.

98

They'll just take the cup home and don't

bring it back or, uh, throw it out.

99

But in two years, it's

almost ingrained habit.

100

When my friends go automatically,

when they go to the market, they

101

already bring their coffee cup

with a lid and all that stuff.

102

So.

103

I think I love when people develop

habits in bigger numbers than, than

104

just, uh, separate, one by one.

105

There's a coffee shop in Kent

that's actually stopped giving,

106

uh, cups to its customers now.

107

So it won't serve you unless you

bring your own, your own cup.

108

And as part of the campaign, they filled

the floor of their coffee shop up.

109

So, so it was waste deep,

pretty much, with all the cups.

110

They kind of saved up all those,

these cups which had been wasted, and

111

they filled the store up with these

things, and took a photograph of it.

112

So that, um, they could just make this

point about how much waste was going on.

113

And, uh, yeah, I refuse to say that.

114

What about if you really want to have

a cup of coffee, but you're not walking

115

around with your cup in your bag or

in your pocket, uh, can you buy a mug

116

or something and then make it yours?

117

Yes.

118

That's, that's good.

119

But they don't make a big film about that.

120

Can I ask a question on that?

121

So, um, at least here in the U.

122

S., many states, not every state, but

many states have outlawed the use of

123

those really thin film, uh, grocery bags.

124

Like the really, like, just

almost, Thinner than paper.

125

Most grocery stores, they

no longer can give this out.

126

Um, and you can only do reusable.

127

But many of the reusables,

they're also made of plastic.

128

They're just a much sturdier

plastic that it's made out of.

129

It's like a very stiff and it's

like it's technically reusable.

130

But it's actually just like, you

know, a tenth of a gram of plastic

131

versus twenty grams of plastic, right?

132

And I might be getting the measurements

wrong, but like, it's, it's a, it's

133

a 20x amount of plastic in weight.

134

between the two.

135

And so you go and they have you buy

those reusables, but you're actually

136

consuming a lot more resources to do so.

137

And then in all likelihood,

invariably, what I think happens

138

is you have too many of those.

139

And then some of those just

get thrown away as well.

140

Like, it's actually like a worse

version of the problem than before.

141

Um, not all those reusables get reused.

142

At all.

143

And, and I wonder, Rob, I'm curious

about sort of like the mugs and things,

144

because I've seen things similar to that,

where they like cause you to buy a thing.

145

But then you just end up with all

these like leftover things that you

146

don't need because you had to buy one

in the effort to avoid a disposable

147

thing and like it becomes a question

like is there is that I don't and I

148

don't know that I know the answer.

149

Is there a better outcome?

150

Leaky has the answer.

151

Her hand is up.

152

Yeah, I have my hands.

153

It's up.

154

I work with fashion designers,

you know, and I help them, um,

155

transition to what's more sustainable.

156

Designs and, uh, there's one saying that

is the most sustainable piece of clothing,

157

is that the one that you already own.

158

You don't need to buy a new one.

159

This is the most sustainable

one, whether it's made of, um,

160

plastic or cotton or whatever.

161

If it's.

162

Already yours.

163

It's already, it's the

most sustainable one.

164

So any new piece of clothing, and

it's also works with bags and, um, and

165

shopping bags or, or mugs or whatever,

any new items will be less sustainable

166

than the ones you already own.

167

You know, it, it just, I don't know.

168

Um, I see it over on social

media, the Stanley cup.

169

This is crazy.

170

It's crazy.

171

You know, um, oh yeah.

172

One of these, these like

one of these kind of cups.

173

Yeah.

174

Yeah.

175

Not the Stanley Cup, the hockey prize.

176

No, no.

177

The, no, no, no.

178

One of these cup, um, the,

the cup you're showing.

179

Yeah.

180

Like an insulated, uh, an insulated for

a podcast listeners insulated cup mug.

181

Yes.

182

To be the kind of mug you

can take and go to Rob's.

183

coffee shop, but then there are

people that are, that start collecting

184

like in all colors and the company,

the brand makes it in all colors.

185

So there are people that start collecting

and this is just getting insane.

186

Really.

187

It defeats the purpose of

it, of the whole thing.

188

Well, I will say in my house,

I have a shelf of all of these

189

mugs that I've been gifted.

190

I have so many and I keep them

and they're like un, unused.

191

And I regift them, including

plenty of them have like, these

192

are stickers from, um, from Oregon,

where I'm from, uh, on here.

193

And, but like, I keep them even if

they have like logos on them that

194

are from some company that gifted

me a branded item, I regift them.

195

But I will say, it's actually hard to

now find someone who doesn't have one

196

of these that I could give it to that

wants one, you know, that has any use

197

for one that they don't already have.

198

And so there is that.

199

It's an interesting,

it's almost like this.

200

meme, this like pattern that gains

momentum, and then it gets so much

201

momentum that it overproduces itself.

202

Like there's so much more of

it than anyone needs, but it

203

is now, it's a wonderful gift.

204

If someone gives me one of these, they

spent 20, and it's, you know, like I

205

appreciate the sentiment, but it's 20

for a thing that I don't need in my life.

206

And there's lots of them

in the thrift stores.

207

I was in a thrift store recently and,

uh, I noticed a whole shelf of reusable

208

cups in the thrift store, water cups.

209

And cause people like a particular kind or

they want it to do certain things or yeah.

210

I like in the market that it's a long

market, so you buy coffee on one end

211

and return the cup at the other end.

212

So you don't take it home a lot of times.

213

Well, so that, I want to,

Christina, I want to go to that.

214

Like, is there a way for a coffee house?

215

To like, so I'm going to back up.

216

There was a company that

I almost invested in.

217

It was on a television

show called Shark Tank.

218

I don't know if any of you have seen

the like television show Shark Tank.

219

And it was a company.

220

I thought it was a really wonderful idea.

221

So I reached out to the

founder and started having

222

some conversations with him.

223

some dialogue with them and possibly, uh,

engaging and investing in the company.

224

And what the company made was a, like a

vending stand for umbrellas, and then they

225

produced really nice, they had very nice

umbrellas, like sturdy, good umbrellas

226

that could, like, withstand even, you

know, even a Cornwall bluries, uh, or,

227

or whatever we'd say there in Cornwall.

228

Um, and instead of, I don't know if

it's in your cities, but when the

229

rain comes out, like, there's just

all these, drugstore, you know, 6

230

umbrellas that break in, I mean, like,

they're not even good for the one

231

storm you're in, let alone five storms.

232

And so the idea was, okay, you come

up and you swipe your credit card,

233

you get an umbrella, it pops out

an umbrella, and it charges you 5.

234

If you don't return the umbrella to

another one of the stands within like

235

a week or two, it was like a period

of time, then it charges you for the

236

full value of the umbrella and you

get to keep it and it's a nice, it's

237

a really well made umbrella, but then

you get to keep it and it was 28.

238

I'm getting the numbers wrong, I'm sure.

239

And so the theory was, and then

they had marketing on the umbrella.

240

So someone was sponsoring the

umbrella itself and then you walked

241

around as a little billboard, right?

242

Um, but it discouraged.

243

waste, it encouraged use

and reuse of the umbrellas.

244

And, and an umbrella is a, is probably

one of the least easy to use and then

245

put back and like turn back into a

coffee cup, Christina, to your point,

246

or to sort of, you know, the thing.

247

There's so many places if I want went

to my local coffee store this morning,

248

and I didn't have my thermos cup with

me and my sort of reusable cup, They

249

could say, great, here is, we're scanning

the QR code, we've got a mug for you,

250

it's got our brand and logo on it, for

today's use, it costs you nothing, you

251

buy your cup of coffee, and here you go.

252

If it's not scanned back in at

the store, in you know, in a week.

253

If you haven't come and dropped it back

off the next time you come in with your

254

cup of coffee, then we charge you the 20

that this insulated mug is worth, right?

255

Then you've bought it.

256

Is that, is that, like, is there

a viable way to do something?

257

So the trick, how they solved it, that

all the cups have Logo Prague logo on it,

258

so all the vendors have the same cups.

259

So you take the cup and buy it from

one vendor and return it to another

260

vendor because they're all the same.

261

So you don't have to come

back to the original vendor.

262

So basically the city is the one

who has the advertisement on the

263

So, I thought that was clever.

264

And it reduces their trash bins

being full, which reduces their

265

staffing costs and their garbage.

266

Like, for the city, there's

actually some municipal savings.

267

Exactly.

268

Yeah, yeah.

269

That's brilliant.

270

The German markets, uh, they give,

um, these, they're, they're, um,

271

uh, quite nice, um, either Stein,

uh, glasses, uh, for, for beer.

272

Yeah.

273

And there's mulled wine, um, ones as well,

which are all ceramic, but you have to

274

pay the full price for that, um, right

from the word go and then they charge you

275

for the beer or whatever you're having

and then you can keep that and just if

276

you can pit all evening and drink all

evening then You just Pay for the beer

277

that you get poured into it, and then

if you give it them back at the end of

278

the evening, they pay you the full price

back, and, um, if, um, if you keep it, you

279

just keep it, and walk away with it, so.

280

Yeah, that's, that's a variation.

281

Yeah, and it's, uh, it reduces

litter in the, in the area.

282

I don't think they did it straight

away, but they were, I think

283

they were using plastic, um,

plastic pint glasses at first.

284

And it was a lot of work, so yeah,

it saves a lot for the council

285

as well as for the vendors.

286

I wonder if there are any companies

out here, out there, helping

287

create a system around that.

288

Other than, so Rob, yours and Christina,

yours are sort of like self solved, right?

289

The city, in your case, Christina,

and the beer hall, I guess, in

290

your case, Rob, are self solved.

291

They've said, okay, we've just

come up with a methodology

292

for doing this ourselves.

293

Thanks.

294

But I wonder if there are any companies

that are like trying to, trying to

295

help solve this in some fashion, like

into as, as the mission of the company.

296

I've always thought that,

um, the umbrella problem.

297

is, uh, needs to be solved.

298

It's a real, really, really big problem

because nobody wants to carry an umbrella.

299

I mean, I don't, I

never carry an umbrella.

300

It's, it's just, it's bulky.

301

And, uh, and when you carry an

umbrella, there's a rule it never rains.

302

So, so it's, it's, it's useless

when, unless, uh, you really need it.

303

And, um, and once you've used

it, it's just bulky again, it's,

304

it becomes troublesome again.

305

So it's.

306

It's really, we really

need to rethink of them.

307

Ownership of the umbrella, because I

think that the umbrella shouldn't be

308

something that's, that is owned by

people, but it should be owned by like,

309

you know, um, the city or companies,

as you said, because this idea, this, I

310

had this idea, uh, when I was living in

Singapore, because, um, in Singapore,

311

there's a rule in the rainy season.

312

It always ran when at lunchtime

in the morning at lunchtime.

313

And when you go home, Apart

from that, it never rains.

314

And, and I hate umbrellas.

315

I don't carry an umbrella.

316

So it was just really, really bugged me.

317

And so I don't know that, yeah, the

umbrella shouldn't be owned by people.

318

Umbrella should be owned by a higher body.

319

Umbrella shop owners are, you know,

I live in Vancouver where Right.

320

It's a lot.

321

And there are fancy

umbrella shops everywhere.

322

But I think if the umbrellas

that were sort of like the, the

323

scooters and the bikes, you can

pick up here and drop off there.

324

If they were branded and really

ugly, no one would want to keep them.

325

And so, but Jen, so here's this,

this company, I'm forgetting

326

the name of the thing.

327

Part of what, part of what we got.

328

I got interested in and

excited about was right.

329

So, and I'm in New York city.

330

So when you walk around with an

umbrella, a lot of people see it, right?

331

Like it, it is a billboard that

has a lot of eyeball impressions.

332

And so, so the idea of having a branded

umbrella that like for my company, the

333

value, if that umbrella costs 28 to,

to, you know, retail and they rent the

334

umbrella for 5, Every time that umbrella

gets rented and used, maybe for brand

335

exposure, my company might be willing to

basically pay 1 of that 5 for just our

336

brand getting walked around by someone.

337

And then if they keep it, that

means that they're gonna keep

338

using it, presumably, right?

339

And so maybe I even contribute 5

towards The retail value keeping it

340

cost and that was part of the, you

know, I was interested in investing in

341

the business cause I, I really liked

the potential impact they could have

342

and the thoughtfulness of a shared.

343

I mean, it's, it's like you just

said, like someone at a higher

344

level should own these umbrellas.

345

That's what this business idea was.

346

You go install these at college

campuses and in more dense urban

347

environments, not so much the spread out.

348

So there's always a nearby one.

349

You can pick one up and drop one off at.

350

But Jen, I think it's, they don't

have, you don't have to make them ugly.

351

Let people enjoy them and like,

let the marketing be marketing.

352

Let them be beautiful.

353

Um, I'm interested in company, uh,

that you saw on Shark Tank because

354

you said you nearly invested in it.

355

I didn't, don't know why you didn't

invest in it, but I think that the

356

key to success for this company is to

partner or to have access to a very

357

extensive network because, uh, for this.

358

Project for this product to work, it needs

to be available and, uh, wherever you go.

359

So it has to, to have access or

partner with a very wide, uh, not

360

wide, a very dense retail network.

361

So in that case, that's.

362

So it's to be very, very interesting.

363

I think it's called the

Brella box, looking to see

364

if they're still in business.

365

What happened to the umbrella?

366

One of the things our transit system does

that I, and I, they used to do it and I

367

don't know if they still do, but I always

thought it was fun is, um, they collect

368

all the lost umbrellas over the year.

369

And once a year.

370

They have an umbrella sale, and you can

go and find the most amazing umbrellas

371

for one or two dollars, maybe up to five.

372

But people go and get the umbrellas,

and that's sort of a way of recycling,

373

because I think the money gets donated

to a charity, and then all these lost

374

items that haven't been claimed in a

year get put back into the recycling bin.

375

use, and then a charity gets

benefits from some of the money.

376

We used to, when we were having, uh,

years ago, a church garage sale, they

377

used to give us 50 umbrellas every

year to sell at our church sale.

378

They'd just give them to us

and we would sell them again.

379

And people looked forward to the

umbrella table because there was

380

always interesting things there.

381

But it was a good way to recirculate and,

uh, raise funds for not for profits, so.

382

Yeah.

383

The, the umbrella is not owned by anyone.

384

Well, and now I've just looked

up BrellaBox and they, it looks

385

like they have stopped taking

orders and aren't in business.

386

Yeah.

387

But I still think it

was a really good idea.

388

Maybe now is the time for us to, maybe

this is a carbon almanac, TCA community,

389

uh, will buy the rights to the business.

390

Thanks.

391

It's like our blue label with, um, Hank

Rogers, Blue Alliance, Hank Rogers, yes.

392

And our fashion brand idea that we came

up with during the podcast recording.

393

I think it was after, not part of the

episode re aired, but it was after

394

that we recorded this wonderful part.

395

Yeah.

396

You remember that?

397

Yeah, I remember that.

398

Yeah.

399

I'm still thinking about it, but I

think one thing, one action we can start

400

doing for this project, this umbrella

project is to start collecting umbrellas

401

and then find a way to brand them.

402

This idea came to, because I've

just signed up for, um, uh, to

403

be a member of the green runners.

404

I just paid my membership.

405

And, um, this, the green runners is an

organization that, uh, advocate for.

406

have a more sustainable practices.

407

And so one of the pillars is, is to,

is based on the way we, uh, we hit up.

408

And so one of the pillar is to refuse

new items or items that you don't need.

409

And when you are a member of

this association, you, uh,

410

what you're, you can pledge.

411

And one of the pledge is to say,

okay, I pledged to, uh, to revisit

412

the way I get up and refuse new

items like, you know, because when

413

you run, you have a lot of t shirts.

414

And so when you are part of this

organization, um, they don't send

415

you any t shirts obviously, but

they will send you just a badge.

416

And you can just sew it

on your existing t shirts.

417

And so, and so what we could do is

to, for the umbrella project, we

418

could start collecting the umbrellas

and then start thinking of, you know,

419

maybe a badge or like, you know,

create big thing for the umbrellas.

420

And then, um, and then like find a

smart way to brand these umbrellas.

421

And so startup cost is,

it's not that expensive.

422

I mean, the most difficult

thing is to find, uh, to partner

423

with retail, a retail network.

424

And Leaky, that's the, that idea comes

back to that sort of conversation with

425

Hank and really that idea of like, just

applying, like take an item and this

426

goes to your adage from before of like,

The most sustainable item, but the

427

least impact is the one that you already

have or the one that already exists.

428

It existed.

429

It's not new.

430

It's you could say vintage, but not

necessarily vintage and, and making

431

that something that people are proud of.

432

They're proud to not have a new t shirt.

433

They're proud to have this

badge on an old t shirt, right?

434

Um, on t shirts they already had because

they're saying, hey, I pledged, this

435

is my running shirt, but I pledged I'm

not accepting all these new, because

436

I've done 5k's things and yes, every

single one of them comes with a t shirt

437

and a headband, you know, like all

these different items promoting it up.

438

Um, That is interesting.

439

It comes back to this idea of

creating pride in wearing a badge,

440

so in its sense, its own logo

branding, that the badge itself says,

441

I didn't buy a new thing, right?

442

That's what the badge is signifying

and symbolizing to the viewer

443

is, I didn't take a new thing.

444

I've kept this old thing,

but it's with intent.

445

And because you're showing

it, it starts a conversation.

446

Mm hmm.

447

Mm hmm.

448

And you, and that could be

not on clothing, but as you

449

said, on an umbrella, yeah.

450

Green Brill.

451

We could call it green Brella.

452

Well, and Hank actually offered,

he was like, I own the rights

453

to the blue planet brand.

454

I think that was like a,

he had the trademark rights

455

that he's licensed to people.

456

He offered this up in our call, right.

457

Um, as part of it.

458

Yes.

459

I don't know.

460

Maybe this is a business to go back to,

or at least an idea, because it doesn't

461

even have to be that logo itself, some

way of just signifying that you've

462

chose, you've chosen that choice, right?

463

I don't know, very interesting.

464

Are there other ways that you all have

friends or colleagues who, do something

465

in this way that is like choosing not

to buy something new, that they, that

466

there's an outward signal of it, right?

467

Like for a while here in the US,

it was very common that people were

468

started drinking out of mason jars,

like canning jars and ball jars.

469

And it became a trendy thing.

470

But then it wasn't in the beginning,

it was reused old mason jars.

471

And then it became You go into a

store and there's 400 mason jars

472

for sale, all brand new, right?

473

Like it got inverted, you know,

the original source intent.

474

So I'm curious if there are like

other little habits or trends

475

in your life with people using

intentionally choosing to reuse a thing.

476

versus buy a new thing.

477

There's a restaurant, a coffee shop

that I go to sometimes near my work,

478

and they make mason jar salads.

479

And so you can buy a salad

to take away in a mason jar.

480

And if you bring it back, you get a

percentage off of the next thing you buy.

481

So there's incentive

to bring the jar back.

482

Um, but Yeah, they're, you know, and

of course, they're really nice salads

483

made in these jars and they do a

lot of that, you know, real dishes.

484

I, you know, I'm always the one going

in and saying, can I have that in a

485

real cup instead of in a plastic cup?

486

Sometimes they look at

you and, but I don't know.

487

I see people walking around with their

reusable mugs and water, especially

488

water, um, water bottles a lot.

489

But I'm still finding it's hard, like

we're doing a concert, we're putting on a

490

big music concert at our church coming up,

and again, it's the conversation, let's

491

please have jugs of water and glasses

out instead of selling bottled water.

492

You know, you're still having, I'm

still having to have that conversation.

493

Not bad.

494

The rest of you, any other

examples in your local life?

495

I just attended, um, an

event, a three days event.

496

Okay.

497

It's, it's totally biased.

498

It's, um, it's called changed now.

499

Um, the event, uh, of

solutions for the planet.

500

Um, there were paper cup for coffee

and then all drinks are very healthy.

501

There's a fountain.

502

, um, on the website, they say, okay,

bring, please bring your own bottle

503

because we don't sell any water.

504

And so bring, you can refill.

505

It's a free day events.

506

But if you don't have your.

507

Bottle.

508

You don't have any cup.

509

They have, um, they have plastic

cups, big, very thick plastic cups.

510

So you use them.

511

And then once it's used, it says,

okay, keep yours for the duration

512

of the, uh, of the day or something.

513

And then once it's used, it goes in a

bin and they, and they just wash it.

514

That was brilliant.

515

But it's solely biased because

it's, it's, uh, it's biased because

516

it's a theme of the, of the summit.

517

Yeah.

518

I just.

519

Feel very, very not feel bad, but

it feel, I just, I feel very awkward

520

because as I said, I just finished a

race last weekend and I counted the

521

number plastic bottles I used, which

I never, usually I never use plastic

522

bottles because it's just, I hate that.

523

I think I had eight or nine bottles

multiplied by the number of.

524

runners, which was probably 60, 000.

525

So, and I, I think I, I, I'm

not the one who had the, the

526

biggest number of bottles.

527

So it was like, just, I'm not

good at math, but just multiply,

528

like, let's say eight to 60, 000.

529

It just, Incredible.

530

And I feel bad.

531

Yeah, I mean, that's

almost half a million.

532

You're talking about like sort of a

disposable water, you know, just a

533

plastic where you buy a bottle of water.

534

Plastic bottles, the thing that

you I don't buy anymore, you

535

know, yeah, disposable ones.

536

I just watched a really

interesting interview by a

537

YouTube character that I watch.

538

It's all about ultralight hiking.

539

And he interviewed the founder

of a company called, um, Stoyer.

540

and they're water filtration devices.

541

I don't know if anyone

has seen these before.

542

They're little like blue, they're like

three inches long with a stem on each end.

543

And they are, it's a water filter that is

very, it's the sort of one become almost

544

the de facto, if you're out hiking for

many days in a row, it's, it's one of

545

the main things you use to take you know,

water you find and filter it so that

546

you can consume it and you're safe from

bacteria and viruses and these things.

547

And the founder of the company

shared something very interesting.

548

He said that they respond to global

emergencies, everything from earthquakes

549

in North Africa to, to hurricanes

in the Caribbean to all over.

550

And they send, they just put a

person on a plane with a duffel

551

bag of their water filters.

552

and send them there and just one little

carry on suitcase bag, uh, can serve.

553

He said we are consistently first on site

delivering clean water to the impacted

554

people, the emergency impacted people.

555

And at many of these emergencies, we

deliver more volume of clean water Then

556

any of the large charities, the Red

Cross, like any of these other large

557

global charities, fly in water in, in

plastic bottles by the like truckload or

558

truck or train and huge amounts of water.

559

And he said, our one little duffel bag

can service a million people, clean

560

water, or the million might be slightly

wrong, I don't remember the number,

561

but it was this very large number.

562

And And I was thinking, he wasn't

bragging about it from a, he wasn't

563

focused on the sustainability part of it.

564

He was focused on the speed

and the impact to the, to the

565

people impacted by the emergency.

566

But my brain got going on the

sustainability aspect of it.

567

And the reduced amount of, like,

I don't know, flying a plane full

568

of water, or driving a truck full

of water in plastic bottles has a

569

very, there's a lot of impact there.

570

Versus The tool that takes existing

local water and makes it clean.

571

Anyway, I just found a very

interesting shout out to Sawyer.

572

That's that's very interesting.

573

It goes back again to the, um,

something that is dear to Jen.

574

I know it's, um, it's the

question of a liquid soap.

575

What do you use for the detergent thing?

576

Because it's, yeah, when you think about

it, it's just silly, you know, it's

577

the same problem because you paying for

the transportation of something that is

578

liquid, whereas the active thing, it's.

579

It's dry.

580

It's dry.

581

It's dry.

582

So the whole thing is silly.

583

It's, yeah.

584

Yeah.

585

I mean, I will say, I'm, uh, I actually

just got my next box of, um, uh, uh, dry

586

deter washing machine detergent sheets.

587

Which I, I ordered during one of

our podcast recordings when Jen,

588

you were telling us about this.

589

I like was like, I'd never heard of that.

590

Let me go do it and found it in order.

591

And I just got my newest box because

we've continued to be, that's our only,

592

that's the product we buy in our house.

593

Yeah, and they've, they've now made it so

that you can, you can, there, there are

594

hand soap companies that it's a tablet

and you put it into a thing of water and

595

it's hand soap and there's dishwashing

liquid and dishwasher blocks and yeah,

596

there's a lot of things now that are

going in that direction of making the

597

shipping so much more efficient and

the packaging, you know, cardboard and.

598

and not needing all the liquid and the

carbon that it takes to transport it.

599

So that's a good thing.

600

Yeah, we've got TED talk

by, there's a South African.

601

Um, he was, I think he won some kind of

global award, um, and it all became, came

602

from the idea that he just didn't want

to have a bath and, um, because he didn't

603

want to have a bath, he wanted to better

clean himself without having a bath.

604

And so he developed a product that, um,

once he started thinking about it, he

605

could produce it, um, the low price point,

but, um, if he sold it to rich people who

606

were lazy and didn't want to buy, Then,

um, he could sell it at a much higher

607

price point and make enough profit from

that to actually be able to sell it at a

608

really, really low price point in Africa,

where people were going blind because

609

they couldn't wash themselves because

of the lack of water or sanitation.

610

And so this whole project.

611

sort of snowballed from that.

612

And so there were people in Africa

who, um, uh, NGOs that were able to

613

buy this product at a very low price,

uh, and actually create a situation

614

that was much better for people

in areas where there was no water.

615

kind of a win win thing.

616

I think there are lots of solutions.

617

This, this is, there's so, so, so

many solutions, but the problem

618

is making the solutions available.

619

And, um, to many people, to most people,

and also changing habits because the

620

detergent thing, I don't wash the clothes

in my house, in my household, and I

621

have not been able to convince people.

622

my husband to switch to the detergent,

uh, the, you know, the detergent shit.

623

I think there's two problems

is one is to make it available.

624

And then the second problem

is, uh, changing habits.

625

I really believe the solutions are here.

626

You've been listening to carbon

sessions, a podcast with carbon

627

conversations for every day with

everyone from everywhere in the world.

628

We'd love you to join the Carbon

Sessions so you too can share your

629

perspectives from wherever you are.

630

This is a great way for our community

to learn from your ideas and

631

experiences, connect and take action.

632

If you want to add your voice to the

conversation, go to thecarbonalmanac.

633

org slash podcast.

634

And sign up to be part

of a future episode.

635

This podcast is also part of

the Carbon Almanac Network.

636

For more information, to sign up for

the emails, to join the movement,

637

and to order your copy of the Carbon

Almanac, go to thecarbonalmanac.

638

org.

639

Be sure to subscribe and join

us here again, as together

640

we can change the world.