Compost 2018

2018 has been a good year for us and bringing our food scraps back to the soil in the form of compost. Last year, in 2017, we collected over 215 pounds.

This year, we collected 227 pounds! And that was just from our home 5-gallon bucket!

Not only did we continue using Healthy Soil Compost for our monthly pick up service, but we also used them to compost at our wedding in June.

Our wedding and our 145 guests kept 139 pounds of organic material out of the landfill, which produced 10 pounds of finished compost and 100 pounds of greenhouse gas carbon emissions.

Also, just recently, I finally asked my place of employment why we had compostable plates/cups/bowls, but nowhere to compost to them. They are currently reaching out to compost pick up services around the city.

So that’s it for 2018!

Since we have started collecting in July of 2016, we have kept over 504 pounds of organic materials from the fate of the landfill. Which is really amazing when you think about it.

Ending the year on a high note!

Wedding Food Waste: How Much Did We Collect?

As you may know, one of my wedding vendors was a compost collection service.

Which is totally not normal and really awesome. 

Healthy Soil Compost, the company that has come to my apartment every month for the past 2 years to pick up my 5-gallon bucket, got to be a part of my wedding day.

Working with my caterers, food waste was collected in larger rollaway totes, rather than my usual 5-gallon bucket. Scraps were collected in the kitchen, as well as out in the reception space.

Me, in my wedding dress, and one of the Healthy Soil Compost containers.

Having the opportunity to support my values on my wedding day was extremely important to me. When else do you get to craft an event that is truly all about you and what you believe in?

At the end of the night, Healthy Soil had collected 139 pounds of organic material that would have otherwise gone straight into a landfill.

Our 139 pounds of organic material (aka tacos) will produce 10 pounds of finished compost to go back into the earth and grow more goodies.

This entire process saved 100 pounds of greenhouse gas carbon emissions from being emitted into the atmosphere.

Small changes can make a difference. Now, go compost for your next event!

Buying Local Food: Week 1

Our own local food challenge started over the weekend. While we still have non-local food in our house, anything that we purchase from now on should be from within our radius.

For instance, right now I am snacking on some Wheat Thins, and once they are gone, they will be gone. Goodbye, my sweet, crunchy snacks.

We hit the ground running Saturday morning at Green City Market with an idea of what we needed. After an initial lap of checking out what vendors were there and what was available, we narrowed down what we were going to purchase based on what we already had at home.

We purchased:

• Eggs
• Spinach
• Spring Onions
• Ramps
• Bread
• Pork Country Sausage
• Asparagus
• Potatoes

For a grand total of $42.00….

We obviously have other food in the fridge to supplement our farmers market purchases, so do not think that is all we are eating for the week.

Stay tuned!

Starting Tomorrow: Local Food Only

Since making the decision to purchase a CSA share this summer, K and I also decided to take it up a notch.

We figured we were already devoting ourselves to local produce, why not add in locally sourced dairy, meat, and other staples? Since I will have to walk over to the farmers market every week to pick up our share, we might as well grab some eggs and meat too.

How we are defining local:

350 miles from Chicago

(Basically, it is about how far a truck can travel in a single day)

What is included:

• Produce
• Meat
• Dairy products & eggs

What is not included:

• Going out to eat
• Eating at other people’s homes

Potential Benefits:

• An increase in vegetable intake
• A decrease in meat intake
• A decrease in processed foods
• A decrease in food packaging, so less waste
• A decrease in GHG used to transport our food around
• A decrease in our  waistlines

Potential Costs:

• $$$$

While our CSA share does not start until June, we are starting when our local farmers market returns outside tomorrow.

HRC telling us how it is on Sesame Street 1993.