I’ll never forget my first compost lesson: I watched as an exasperated co-worker extracted chip wrappers and La Croix cans that had been carelessly tossed into the compost bin throughout the day.
Five years later, I understand him. I double-fist my metal water bottle and coffee thermos, spend Saturdays picking up trash on Ocean Beach, and I compost. But as devastating wildfires become the norm and we hurtle toward the worst effects of climate change, I want to step up my game in 2020 and live more sustainably.
However, my partner and I worried that being renters would limit us in terms of making our home more eco-friendly. We don’t have a garage to charge our fictitious Tesla. No backyard for a garden. And permission to install solar panels on the roof isn’t in my lease.
But then the answer appeared on an event flyer: a woman named Friday Apaliski, a Bay Area sustainability concierge, who promises to greenify your home.
On one hand, this seemed very much like a bougie, ridiculous service you’d only find in SF. And it probably is. But on the other hand, it also seemed really helpful. And turns out, it was.
I got in touch with Apaliski, whose own story is much like that of my despondent coworker. The 38-year-old was the “compost lady” at a former job, known for her diligent lessons on proper office recycling etiquette. That passion led her to a career pivot at the San Francisco Department of the Environment. Then, after fielding constant “is this compostable?” texts from friends and family, she decided three years ago to go all-in on helping others.
“It was very clear that there was a gap here of people wanting to be more sustainable, but not knowing truly how to do it,” she said.
Apaliski’s consulting options range from a short phone Q&A or a $120/hour home audit to her most extensive: the Holistic Home service, in which she canvasses your space, delivers detailed analysis and recommendations, and makes all of the changes for you. I opted for the $120/hour appraisal. After all, how much work could there be in a 500-square-foot apartment?
When Friday arrived — coincidentally, on a Friday — she stepped inside my apartment and gave my dog a cheerful greeting before we established my goals and got down to business.
Quite literally down, on my kitchen floor. Apaliski appraised the contents of every cupboard, rattling off suggestions for trash bag brands made with post-consumer recycled plastic and how I can ditch my Mrs. Meyer’s soap for a plastic-free dish soap bar.
In the kitchen, Apaliski spotted my eco-branded sponge, which she hadn’t heard of before, perched on the sink. She contemplated it for a second before declaring matter-of-factly, “You can do better.” It was a phrase I heard throughout the tour, and quickly recognized it as her way of acknowledging my good intentions. Instead, she said a simple rectangle of wool is an easy swap for a sponge. Wool is compostable and provides some abrasion, whereas sponges often have synthetics and just end up in the trash. This continued as we paraded through my apartment. She rattled off energy-saving tips for reducing water flow and alternative Earth-friendly brands for just about everything with an encyclopedic precision that carried me from room to room.
Apaliski’s visit showed me I had a lot more work to do. It’s impossible to articulate everything she shared (my pen didn’t move fast enough), but there were several big changes that renters and apartment-dwellers can do to make their home more sustainable:
1. Sign up for CleanPowerSF
CleanPowerSF is a public program that taps renewable energy resources to power San Francisco homes and businesses at an affordable rate. If you’re a city resident, Apaliski says you’re likely already auto-enrolled into the “Green” program. Congrats. But being “Green” means your abode only partially relies on clean power. To use 100% renewable electricity, you must enroll in the “SuperGreen” program. Check your latest bill to see if you are. It turns out, my partner had already enrolled us in the SuperGreen program. It does cost a little more, but averages around $3 per month.
“It’s the most powerful and impactful thing renters can do to live more sustainably,” Apaliski said of the program. And all for less than a latte.
2. Kick your plastic habit
Reducing single use plastic was, I thought, already a big personal focus for me. But Apaliski’s visit made me realize just how blind I was to the amount of plastic products and packaging in my apartment and daily life. For instance, I’d tried to reuse my takeout containers for leftovers. When Apaliski spotted the stack, she acknowledged my intent, but recommended I stick to glass or metal containers and avoid to-go containers outright both for the environment and avoiding endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as BPA.
Apaliski had a slew of other good swaps: Mason jars instead of plastic for bulk items, cloth towels instead of paper ones, and to use brands like If You Care for a more eco-conscious kitchen. Plus, websites like MadeSafe provide lengthy resources for non-toxic and environmentally friendly products ranging from makeup to laundry detergent.
3. Learn most of your garbage isn’t trash
We already treat composting and recycling like a religion in my apartment. However, Apaliski rummaged through my trash bin and revealed I was still throwing away a number of recyclable items. For instance, I was tossing tons of soft plastics, like plastic bags or plastic wrap, that are actually recyclable in San Francisco.
The only requirement is that soft plastic be balled up together in the recycling bin to avoid getting caught in recycling machines. Recycling requirements are different for every city, Apaliski said. If confused or unsure, Bay Area residents can check resources like RecycleWhere to confirm which materials go where. Recycling and composting is also mandatory in San Francisco. The city will hook you up with a free compost pail, if you don’t have one already.
4. Have a lightbulb moment
When Apaliski entered the bathroom, she spotted the dead bulb above my mirror and had two words for me: LED lightbulbs. LEDs use about 85% less energy, saving you money, and usually last longer. Apaliski said you can tell your lightbulbs are incandescent by checking the labels or if the bulb feels hot after you flip the switch off.
Swapping your bulbs for LED ones is a great sustainable solution for renters, Apaliski said, because you can either take them with you when you move or just ask your landlord to deduct the cost from next month’s rent. LEDs once had a bad reputation for emitting harsh light, but Apaliski said that’s untrue today with numerous colors and temperatures out there.
5. Slow your flow
While in the bathroom, Apaliski tapped the neck of the faucet over the sink: get a low-flow aerator. Standard faucets use just over two gallons per minute (GPM) and Apaliski said installing a low-flow aerator can reduce that to 1.2 GPM or less, which saves energy and money. Aerators are usually easy to install by hand and only cost a few dollars at your local hardware store, she said. To see if your sink already has one, you can find the flow rate etched on the ring.
6. Don’t fall prey to phantom charging
In the sweltering Iowa summers growing up, my parents would scold me if I held the door open too long while chatting with friends. “We’re not trying to cool the outside,” they’d say in a tone of classic Midwestern passive aggressiveness. The same can be said for major appliances like TVs and game consoles that suck up energy in your apartment when you leave it plugged in but aren’t using them. Instead, Apaliski recommends connecting these items all to power strips that you can easily switch off. Just unplug or flick them off when you’re done.
7. Don’t panic, just keep trying
Ultimately, we’d isolated dozens of cleaning products, lightbulbs, containers, and more that weren’t optimally eco-friendly. Panic bubbled up in my chest as I now had to decide what to do with them. Apaliski reassured me it was okay to use up the products I had. Then, harness my newly attained knowledge to make more sustainable choices when I needed to restock.
In the end, Apaliski left me with a new wool sponge, a better plan, and one last tip: “Remember to focus on making progress, and not perfection.”
