Sustainability is Sexy
We will talk to leaders in the sustainability space to provide insights, solutions and updates for creating a healthier planet.
Sustainability is Sexy
101: Food Scraps, E-Waste & Rain - Oh My!
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In this episode we discuss tangible, local resources with Jessica Bombar from Solana Center for Environmental Innovation. Episode resource links are provided below.
Food Cycle: https://www.solanacenter.org/resources/food-cycle-program
Rain barrels: https://www.solanacenter.org/purchase-rain-barrel
E-waste: https://www.solanacenter.org/electronic-waste
Events - Master composter, workshops etc: https://www.solanacenter.org/events
Sustainability is Sexy: https://www.sustainabilityissexy.org
Hello and welcome to Sustainability is Sexy, the podcast where we talk about all things sustainable from regenerative agriculture, alternative to single-use plastic, and everything in between. I'm your host, Liz Murphy, and each episode I will talk to leaders in the sustainability space to provide insights, innovation, and inspiration for all of us to create a healthier planet.
SPEAKER_02On today's episode, we have local sustainability warrior Jessica Bumbar. Welcome to the podcast, Jess.
SPEAKER_00Hello, thank you.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we're so excited to have you here. Um, Jess also works with the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation, um, which is an amazing resource here located in Encinitas. So we're super excited to talk about that. But I really want to start off with your personal sustainability journey because I really find that that kind of gives us some background um on how you came to work in the sustainable industry. So tell me a little bit about how it started for you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I love thinking about this. For me, I wouldn't say that it was like a big moment or anything, um, but thinking back to being younger, I definitely did have tendencies to like upcycle and kind of um, I always had like a box with like ribbons and fabric scraps and like hang tags from clothes that I'd like reuse in projects and stuff. And I was also really into thrifting and vintage since I was um probably in high school. I think I was probably one of the only people who insisted on getting a vintage prom dress. Wow. Um, much to my mom's confusion and frustration because I made her drive me all around and find something. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, but I've just always kind of had that innate interest, I think, which I love. Um, and also just being someone who loves being outside. I grew up in Florida, so after graduating college, I moved out to California. And I think being out here kind of cemented um what matters to me. And I would say, like, to sum up my sustainability journey in one phrase, it's really just connecting to nature and trying to um give back and prevent waste rather than um taking. So that's kind of been an ongoing process of like learning what I can do and how to be better.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's beautiful. I love that. Connecting to nature. We all have our why. And you know, I think for all of us at our core, it's all the same goal, but we get there in different ways. So that's really, really beautiful. What how how long have you been working with Solana Center?
SPEAKER_00I started just a bit shy of a year and a half ago. Um, I actually took our master composter class in the end of 2019, and I was instantly like, what is this? I'm obsessed. I need to work for them. And yeah, the marketing role was open and it was pretty, pretty perfect. That's perfect.
SPEAKER_02What were you doing before then? Were you in the same similar space or were what industry were you in?
SPEAKER_00I was working at an ad agency. So not really similar space. The company was great, but I've just always felt a drive to do spend my time doing something that really matters rather than making other companies money. So it just feels really good to know that you're like working in the community and you can literally see the change happening. And um, yeah, working at Solana Center is a dream. Love it.
SPEAKER_02So for the listeners that don't know what Solana Center for Environmental Innovation is, can you give us a little rundown on what you guys do there?
SPEAKER_00Of course. So we started back in the 80s as a recycling organization, and we've quickly um morphed into more of a well, environmental innovation. So we do everything from like conservation to working with jurisdictions to um get them to be more sustainable, and um, there's a lot of regulations with the state of California, so we do a lot of um like legislation work to prepare um and inform people that way. So it's a variety of like education and community resources. We have a lot of um activations, which I'm sure we'll touch on. I know you're part of Food Cycle, which is our community compost program. Um, and we offer e-waste collection. So we do a whole range of things mostly centered around um yeah, protecting the natural environment in a variety of ways.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'd really love to focus on like three community resources that I feel are really beneficial and that I think a lot of people don't know about. So I think the food cycle program, the what you guys do with rain barrels and then the e-waste are three things that I see, you know, all the time that I think are easily taken advantage of by the community, um just to make people aware. So let's start with the food cycle program. Like you said, I am a part of it. Um I've been a part of the Solana Center's food cycle program for almost three years. Now I think I was like one of the first people. OG. Um because as soon as I found out about it, I I knew I needed to be a part of it because as somebody that lives in a San Diego apartment, you know, with uh not really much use for personally composted soil, I didn't know what to do. Um, and this program provides a resource um for people that either don't have the time or the energy or the space um for traditional at-home composting. So, how does the food cycle program work?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's exactly right. It's a perfect program for um anyone who doesn't personally want to compost, but I I like to think once you learn the impact that your food waste has in the landfill, you kind of can't go back from do like not knowing. So it provides an option for people to compost their scraps. So basically, we put we provide a bucket and you can throw all of your food waste, organic materials like paper towels, tissues, um, even dairy and bones, the harder to compost things in your traditional backyard composting. Um, citrus peels, everything like that. Um, you can we've I've seen like a full birthday cake in a bucket before, like literally compost everything. Um, and we use the method of bokashi, which is a it's rice husk that has a bacteria added to it to almost allow it to ferment the food scraps. So it allows us as the Lana Center to kind of compost it at our own rate rather than it kind of rotting and getting gross. Um, I won't say that it doesn't have a smell, like it still is food scraps, but it is a great way to preserve it.
SPEAKER_02Honestly, it smells more pickled. Exactly. Like pretty much is pickled. Like I've never been bothered by the smell at all. And I mean, for people that are sensitive, they are in sealed buckets. So hold your breath while you put your scraps in, but like it's really not bad at all.
SPEAKER_00Yes, exactly. And it really helps the good bacteria from the bokashi helps the compost process and it speeds it up. So we take the buckets back once they're filled, and you drop it off at the center, measure how much food waste you've prevented from the landfill, which is really cool because you can kind of keep your own running tally. I'm sure you love um keeping an eye on your poundage that you've prevented, but it's um then we create a big arid static pile at our site using all the food scraps. So we'll have um Tulsi, who heads up our food cycle program. Um, she'll do, I think, a monthly build. And um, back when we had a lot of volunteer help due to COVID, we don't so much do it anymore. Um, that's a really fun opportunity to get the community involved and like really see the process and kind of go full circle circle for the food cycle members who don't get to compost at home but do want to like see what happens once they drop off their bucket. So that's really cool.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's really awesome. And as a member of the food cycle program, you are able to take composted soil um back with you, correct? Yeah, which is so awesome. So, like you get the benefit of the full process of composting without having to do all of the dirty work if you're not ready to do it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. I personally love composting, but it does take a little time and upkeep and space, depending on the type. There's vermicomposting, which you can do inside. Um, but I mean, some people don't like the worms and they don't want to get their hands dirty. Totally understandable. So this is a great option. This is available to like restaurants as well, or just yeah, we do offer it to businesses. More offices, I would say, take us up on that offer instead of restaurants. Absolutely. But we're pretty much open to work with any organization that is interested. I think we can find a way to work with them. Awesome.
SPEAKER_02All right, let's move on to rain barrels because this is something that I am not as familiar with um and understanding the benefits and why we should be doing that. So, can you talk a little bit about the rain barrel program?
SPEAKER_00Yes, of course. So, a couple times a year we work with the county of San Diego to offer discounted rates on rain barrels, and they're 50-gallon buckets uh or barrels, and um the discount gets them down to really low prices for unincorporated residents, and there's also a rebate through WaterSmart, which um provides an additional rebate for all of San Diego residents. So, this is a really fun program that we offer, and um it gets really like a lot of people that aren't familiar with Solana Center. I find that they find us through this rain barrel program.
SPEAKER_02Oh, wow, okay.
SPEAKER_00Um, so we'll have you can pick them up at the center. So a lot of the times people will be like, I'm just coming to pick up my barrel, like I've never been here. What do you do? And it's kind of like the open door to show them what else we do at the center. Um, but we do go into the community of San Diego and have a couple of pickup events throughout the year as well to kind of distribute them to since San Diego is so large, um, not everyone has to come pick up in Encinitas.
SPEAKER_02So, what is a rain barrel and why should we use them?
SPEAKER_00Rain barrels are amazing. Um, they are a great way to collect chemical-free water for your plants, for your garden, um, for your yard. Uh, it saves you a lot of money on your water bill, but it's also just really good for the plants because a lot of the time the water that we have in our hoses has additives to it that um isn't really great for your garden. So they are also great for preventing runoff water. Not only are you keeping the water on your site to use in your yard, in especially like the warmer San Diego months, um, but also collecting that water prevents it from going into the drains and into the sewer system and potentially getting contaminated or running into the oceans since we are such a coastal um city. Cool.
SPEAKER_02And how much space do you is it normally like you keep it outside, obviously during the rain. You put them under your um your gutter. Okay, okay, cool. Wow, I love it. I love it. So yeah, anyone that is interested in that, please check it out.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they're really awesome. And you can hook up a hose right to it so you can just run it right out to your yard or hook it up to your sprinkler system, I'm sure. Um they're super once they're installed, like there's not really any maintenance. There's a lid that keeps with a screen so it lets the water fall in, but like no mosquitoes or any passengers can get into it. So it's very straightforward.
SPEAKER_01In this series, we are talking to local sustainable business owners and organizations to highlight tangible resources within our community. Are you a local sustainable business or do you know someone we should be talking to? Email us at sustainability is sexy the podcast at gmail.com.
SPEAKER_02And then last but not least, I wanted to touch on your e-waste um program, just because I know I've struggled with this in various places that I've lived, like trying to learn and understand how to recycle electronic waste and like what I am able to put in my regular recycling, which I think with the electronic is nothing. Um so tell me about that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, e-waste, I think is kind of an underrated um thing that we offer. A lot of people do take us up on the e-waste collection that we offer on our site. Um, but I just think, I mean, I personally didn't really know much about it before I started working at Solana Center. It e-waste accounts for about 20% of the uh contents in the landfill, but it contributes to 70% of the toxicity leaving the landfill and infiltrating our groundwaters. So it's a really big deal that we shouldn't be putting them in the landfill because they break down and they release all the toxic waste. So we work with a local organization called Urban Corp, and they take the e-waste and pretty much take it apart. They don't um resell it or anything, and they use the parts to make other new things. So it's a really amazing way to make sure that those resources are getting reused and they're not polluting anything. It's a double whip.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, what so what constitutes e-waste? So, like anything electronic, like old computers, old phones, televisions, boards.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. We also take batteries and light bulbs, which technically aren't e-waste. Um, we take kitchen appliances like blenders and toasters and stuff like that, printers, computers, uh, like you said. Um, this is also a really great thing for businesses because a lot of the time there's like big computers and old things that are just sitting around. Um, we offer through Urban Corp Urban Corp a pickup right from your office, which is really awesome. Yeah. And it's free.
SPEAKER_02Oh, that's amazing. Okay, cool. Yeah. Oh, I'm so excited about this myself. Just for like just alone the batteries and light bulbs, knowing that there's a local resource to take them off my hands in a, you know, in an eco-friendly way. That's really, really amusing.
SPEAKER_00It's so awesome.
SPEAKER_02I love, I love it. Are there any other local community resources at Solana Center you think are would be really important to share?
SPEAKER_00Um, I kind of mentioned our master composter program already, which is a really exciting opportunity if you want to dive in more and learn about all the different varieties of composting. There's worm composting, there's traditional backyard um compost piles, and there's bokashi, like we mentioned. Um I loved it and it made me feel really empowered to like empowered and confident to compost in my own house, but also to like share it with other people. And it's a five-week program. So that I would love to highlight for people because I think it's just an awesome resource.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we're like, I try and keep an eye out because you guys do offer so many amazing series and workshops and educational opportunities. So, you know, we really want our followers to be aware of it. Um, so what is your number one suggestion to somebody that's just starting out trying to live a more sustainable lifestyle?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I would say for me, I'm probably biased because my partner's a farmer, but I would say eat local produce. Um that's been such an amazing journey for me, just like getting to learn one, how that decreases your carbon footprint, but also lifts up like local businesses and um you get to know who's growing your food and you feel part of your community. And it's just it feels so good to know how fresh your food, like it was picked that day, potentially. And you really for me as someone who is interested in like living as natural as possible, you feel so connected with the different seasons, knowing what's growing when, and um that would definitely be my find a farmer's market, find a farm, find somewhere that you can grow your own food, definitely if you can, if you have space. Um, there's so many ways, even if it's just like a tomato plant in your yard, um, to grow and eat local produce.
SPEAKER_02Yay! I'm like giddy over here to talk about that since that's like my obviously my number one thing with Santosha. So that's amazing. I'm so glad that that was it. And then I like to ask my guests, is there a product or a favorite replacement that you've made in your own life that you'd like to share with people?
SPEAKER_00Okay, for me, this is four or five or ten. Yeah, I mean, I have a ton of products I could probably recommend, but this I'm gonna keep it super simple and say jars because if anyone knows me, I'm just like obsessed. I use them for everything, and it's a great way to give it more of a life cycle rather than just throwing a glass jar in the recycling after you use like pasta sauce or something. Um, I mean, right now I currently have tea brewing in a jar right next to me. Um they're great. I use them for literally everything.
SPEAKER_02Use them for anything, and then you become a crazy jar lady. Yes. I'm just talking about myself, but I'm sure you're the same way with like a massive cabinet. I like full of jars. Just the other day, I gave somebody some, I think it was white vinegar in a mason jar or a reusable jar. And they were like, oh, let me put it in something so I can give you a jar back. And I was like, no, no, no, no. I have enough jars for you. You keep, you keep. Yeah, but that's an amazing suggestion. Jars are just the end all be all.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we all have them. And I just get really sad when I see someone throwing out a great jar. I'm like, do you know what you could use that for?
SPEAKER_02I love it. I do uh yeah, everything.
SPEAKER_00If anyone is interested in learning more, that Solana Center has a ton of resources on our site, or follow us on Instagram at Solana Center. Um, we're always sharing educational things and you feel free to reach out. Well, thank you so much for being here today. Of course. Thank you.
SPEAKER_02You can find more information like Jess mentioned on Instagram at Solana Center and online at solanacenter.org. All of the resources and brands we mentioned on today's podcast will be linked for your reference. And until next time, I'm Liz Murphy sending you sustainability love from San Diego.
SPEAKER_01Sustainability as Sexy is a nonprofit organization located in San Diego, California, focused on inspiring and driving innovation within our community to create real change. Learn more at sustainability issexy.org and find out how you can be involved.