After reading Aylin’s blog post about Lauren Singer, an NYU graduate who is successfully living a zero waste lifestyle, I have been thinking about how to incorporate some of her tips into my life. The one thing that she has eliminated completely from her consumer habits is plastic.
She makes it sound quite easy- but since I started paying close attention, I have realized that my life is plagued with plastic. Whenever I buy groceries there is always something I need that is only available in plastic packaging. As a vegetarian, tofu is a staple in my diet, but I have yet to come across a tofu product that isn’t sealed in plastic wrap.  While I have eliminated a huge portion of my previous plastic consumption, I realized that my reusable tupperware are almost entirely plastic.
Lauren’s solution for this problem is glass- mostly in the form of a mason jar. On her blog she claims that getting rid of plastic is a crucial part of becoming more environmentally friendly because plastic is toxic.

My curiosity however is what makes glass non-toxic or better? Is it the ingredients, the production, the longevity? I decided to look into this, and this is what I discovered:

• Glass maintains it’s longevity. If recycled properly, it can be turned into more glass over and over- unlike plastic. Plastic loses its integrity- a plastic container cannot be recycled once again into a plastic container. It has to be downcycled, into a different product such as: plastic plumber and carpet padding.
• When you are using a plastic container, packaging or anything of the sort, you know that it is entirely new. This means that all new resources go into making it.
• Because plastic is made of entirely new resources, its production has greater impact on the environment.
• Using recycled glass means that manufacturers furnaces can run at lower temperatures and for every 6 tonnes of recycled glass used, CO2 emissions drop a tonne.
• Glass does not have the estrogen-mimicking chemical bisphenol A (BPA) which is responsible for a number of negative health effects such as: breast cancer, heart disease and obesity. Aside from the health consequences, man made chemicals are much more difficult to break down, which cause them to build up indefinitely in our systems.
• A downside of glass however is that it is heavier, so transportation is significantly more expensive.

While looking into this, I also discovered that some innovation has taken place involving plants in plastic bottles. Coke now has bottles that are made up of 30% plant matter. Despite this, it does seem quite clear why glass is a more favourable option than plastic regarding sustainability.

After Amazon’s notable purchase of Whole Foods both businesses have been under scrutiny regarding sustainability. A lot of questions have circulated around Amazon’s motivation for purchasing”America’s healthiest grocery store,” and many customers are concerned the product line may not remain as “pure” as it once was.

While I myself believe that Amazon is using this acquisition as a way to “green” their image, I realized I have no idea what Amazon is currently doing in regards to sustainability. I did some research, and here is what I found:

Amazon’s environmental dedication is focused on power.

Amazon has signed the White House’s Business Act on Climate Pledge and joined Apple, Microsoft and Google in supporting the continued implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.

Amazon’s newest buildings are heated using recycled energy.

There are initiatives in place to encourage box reuse and reduction in packaging supplies overall.

Amazon has set a goal to install solar energy systems at 50 of their fulfilment network buildings by 2020.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) exceeded it’s goal of using 40% renewable energy by 2016, and is looking to reach 50% by 2017.

I felt that the final two discoveries were a bit difficult to comprehend, as an “outsider” I have no idea how many fulfilment network buildings there are, or how big AWS is in regards to Amazon as a whole. It turns out, Amazon has 475 fulfilment buildings globally, and about 47 more are expected in the future. This means that less than 11% of the buildings are going to be solar powered by 2020.

It is much more difficult to understand the impacts of AWS using 100% renewable energy on Amazon’s overall environmental footprint. I was unable to find information regarding how much power Amazon uses as a whole, or how much AWS as a segment uses. Therefore, all I can say is that Amazon is committed to using renewable energy for a fraction of it’s operations.

Based on this information, I can say with certainty that Amazon is taking some initiative regarding the environmental, economic and social realms of sustainability, which is promising. That being said, I don’t feel that they are doing enough, especially considering how powerful and innovative Amazon is. Looking at the top ten companies owned by Amazon (found on investopia.com) Whole Foods is the only one that I easily identify as a “sustainable” company. This reassures me in my assumption that Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods was done primarily to contribute to their own environmentally friendly image.

Now I wonder, will Whole Foods make Amazon seem more “green,” or will Amazon harm Whole Foods’ prestige in the sustainability department?

Information
http://www.mwpvl.com/html/amazon_com.html
https://www.amazon.com/p/feature/gkkwdp34z5ou7ug
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/102115/top-10-companies-owned-amazon.asp

Images
https://www.google.ca/search?q=whole+foods+and+amazon&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwir5sDwmfHWAhUM8GMKHVc0CLcQ_AUICygC&biw=1301&bih=639#imgrc=fEEHZ5njivdpMM:
https://www.google.ca/search?q=whole+foods+and+amazon&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwir5sDwmfHWAhUM8GMKHVc0CLcQ_AUICygC&biw=1301&bih=639#imgrc=pDe3RRm2FNUfEM:

If you have never heard of Aquaponics, do not fear. I just learned about this “revolutionary” form of farming at the end of summer. Put simply, aquaponics is the combination of hydroponics (the growing of plants without soil) and aquaculture (the raising of fish).

IMAGE: https://www.google.ca/search?q=aquaponics&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5l6C_-NzWAhVD8GMKHYrRCx0Q_AUICigB&biw=1164&bih=672#imgrc=y3Vpdztu_xxncM:

Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing more adorable than your Great Aunt Betty’s traditional style garden- but gardens have a number of downsides. They often require pesticides and artificial nutrients. They are prone to damage by animals and require a lot of water. 

While the goal of Aquaculture is largely to restore and protect populations of threatened and endangered aquatic species, there are a number of concerns with this production system as well. Fish waste pollutes the water with high levels of ammonia, requiring 10-20% of the tank’s water to be replaced daily. This is a massive amount of water. Additionally, the disposal of this water can often lead to the pollution of nearby streams, rivers and lakes. Not to mention, due to the close proximity of the fish, they are prone to disease and often require unnatural treatments.

What makes Aquaponics the more sustainable option?

• Aquaponics continually recycles the water and uses only 10% of the amount used by any other type of agriculture.
• No pesticides or fertilizes need to be added.
• The fish feed the plants, and the plants filter the water for the fish! Talk about a symbiotic relationship.

I had the opportunity to visit an Aquaponics farm in Powell River BC in August and I was quite amazed by this system. One really cool feature of Aquaponics is the scalability. While the farm I visited was quite large, this is something that can be accomplished in a traditional sized garden, or even in a conventional sized fish tank.

A theme I have noticed within sustainable business venture success is relationship building amongst previously separate systems. Symbiotic relationships are widely necessary when it comes to sustainability, which make it key for business partnerships aimed at the long run. Although Aquaponics is a fairly straightforward example, more complicated relationships need to be developed in large scale businesses as well. What “symbiotic relationships” can you think of in big business?

Photos taken at Sunshine Coast Aquaponics, Powell River BC

Sources: https://www.theaquaponicsource.com/what-is-aquaponics/