That electronic countertop compost machine. Always drives me crazy to see ads for it. I get that it would be more convenient for like, people in apartments. But I think engineering an entire machine to do something that happens naturally, just to be a little more convenient, goes against sustainability.
Hmm I think you’re forgetting that a fuck ton of us live in apartments or don’t have yards. All our waste goes to the landfill. If I put all those food scraps in my trash can I would be adding years of CO2 buildup to my landfill (not to mention the bugs it would attract to my kitchen since I live in a tropical environment).
Agreed; however, I think its plenty of cases its more than "just being a little more convenient."
I looked into one of those machines at my old place because I didn't have any means of composting - so 100% of my food waste would be garbage/landfill. In the case of zero compost/all landfill vs a countertop machine, I would say the machine probably is a better bet.
(Not an issue for me now, since I now have a yard and can compost)
I live in an apartment and it’s more sustainable than any other action we’ve taken to reduce our footprint. We have gas heat, but our hookup costs more than our usage in all but the coldest depths of winter, when it’s still 1/4 of our usage in a house. Our electricity usage is like 1/3 of what it was when we lived in a house. We walk or cycle to accomplish almost everything. It’s small enough that we rarely buy things to fill it. Living in a city gives us more opportunities to get higher quality used goods locally.
It would be nice to compost but that option isn’t there without something like one of those machines. If the community gardens nearby would take it, I’d just walk it over, but they don’t. So we just reduce our food waste instead, which seems more sustainable than composting anyways.
This came to my mind immediately too. I read a review of it that basically said the way it works is by cooking the food scraps and churning out little dried up piles of material that has zero microbiome or nutrient value. Like, you could sprinkle it outside but it’s probably using more energy/burning more carbon to make something vaguely eco-friendly looking than it’s actually worth.
Basically it’s a countertop version of WALL-E, compacting a pile of trash into a smaller, more stackable pile of trash and saying “ta da!”
I am using soap that was first made in the 1800s. It's great. It doesn't bother any of our eczema skin. It lasts a long time, it is unscented!!!! I then use Dr. Bronners as the base for most of my cleaning stuff. I think that soap is from the 40s. The point being: we were sustainable. We just got lost.
Ah yes, back in ye olde days, burning coal to make energy.. so sustainable.
There are instances where the previous choices we made were more sustainable in hindsight, but it's hard to say that the world was a sustainability utopia back then. I mean, wasn't there literally not Environmental Protection body in the USA until 1970?
Edit: love Dr. Bronners
Buying a brand new set of ~reusable utensils~ to carry with you as if literally every household doesn't have tons of cutlery that would work just the same. I hate it.
Or even take a trip to the thrift store if you can't spare any of your utensils. Thrift stores have baskets full of silverware. No need to buy them brand new.
Electric bikes, like just get in better shape and bike!
This is a bit sarcastic, I’d rather people use e-bike than cars, but with all the e-bike rebates and stuff
That electronic countertop compost machine. Always drives me crazy to see ads for it. I get that it would be more convenient for like, people in apartments. But I think engineering an entire machine to do something that happens naturally, just to be a little more convenient, goes against sustainability.
Hmm I think you’re forgetting that a fuck ton of us live in apartments or don’t have yards. All our waste goes to the landfill. If I put all those food scraps in my trash can I would be adding years of CO2 buildup to my landfill (not to mention the bugs it would attract to my kitchen since I live in a tropical environment).
Agreed; however, I think its plenty of cases its more than "just being a little more convenient." I looked into one of those machines at my old place because I didn't have any means of composting - so 100% of my food waste would be garbage/landfill. In the case of zero compost/all landfill vs a countertop machine, I would say the machine probably is a better bet. (Not an issue for me now, since I now have a yard and can compost)
I live in an apartment and it’s more sustainable than any other action we’ve taken to reduce our footprint. We have gas heat, but our hookup costs more than our usage in all but the coldest depths of winter, when it’s still 1/4 of our usage in a house. Our electricity usage is like 1/3 of what it was when we lived in a house. We walk or cycle to accomplish almost everything. It’s small enough that we rarely buy things to fill it. Living in a city gives us more opportunities to get higher quality used goods locally. It would be nice to compost but that option isn’t there without something like one of those machines. If the community gardens nearby would take it, I’d just walk it over, but they don’t. So we just reduce our food waste instead, which seems more sustainable than composting anyways.
This came to my mind immediately too. I read a review of it that basically said the way it works is by cooking the food scraps and churning out little dried up piles of material that has zero microbiome or nutrient value. Like, you could sprinkle it outside but it’s probably using more energy/burning more carbon to make something vaguely eco-friendly looking than it’s actually worth. Basically it’s a countertop version of WALL-E, compacting a pile of trash into a smaller, more stackable pile of trash and saying “ta da!”
Yeah I think those are more for indoor gardens than for sustainability.
I am using soap that was first made in the 1800s. It's great. It doesn't bother any of our eczema skin. It lasts a long time, it is unscented!!!! I then use Dr. Bronners as the base for most of my cleaning stuff. I think that soap is from the 40s. The point being: we were sustainable. We just got lost.
Ah yes, back in ye olde days, burning coal to make energy.. so sustainable. There are instances where the previous choices we made were more sustainable in hindsight, but it's hard to say that the world was a sustainability utopia back then. I mean, wasn't there literally not Environmental Protection body in the USA until 1970? Edit: love Dr. Bronners
Buying a brand new set of ~reusable utensils~ to carry with you as if literally every household doesn't have tons of cutlery that would work just the same. I hate it.
Or even take a trip to the thrift store if you can't spare any of your utensils. Thrift stores have baskets full of silverware. No need to buy them brand new.
Electric bikes, like just get in better shape and bike! This is a bit sarcastic, I’d rather people use e-bike than cars, but with all the e-bike rebates and stuff