The Big Favorite wants to redirect our worn out panties, briefs and bras into the zero-waste economy — but there’s a catch. Used polyester-infused underwear is not currently suitable for recycling. With no place left to go but the trash can, undies join the estimated 11 million pounds of textiles dumped in landfills yearly. In
More
In a former municipal building on Rising Sun Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia, cycling enthusiast Rudi Saldia is doing something he never imagined: working at a desk. It was a long and winding road—well, often a straight road on a grid—that led him to Bennett Compost’s Lawncrest headquarters. Before the days of DoorDash and Grubhub, he
More
Living a sustainable lifestyle can be a daunting undertaking, especially if you don’t know where to begin. Welcome to the first edition of Philly Low-Waste Living. I’m Emily Rodia, the founder of Good Buy Supply—Philly’s one-stop-shop for sustainable home goods. We specialize in all areas of the home from kitchen, bathroom to laundry but
More
In the lower underbellies of BOK, a 340,000 square-foot co-maker space in South Philly, there is a labyrinth of glass—walls of emerald greens and blues, and shelf after shelf of clear jars, beer and soda bottles. The glass is all empty, pre-used, awaiting its new future wherein Bottle Underground, the one and only glass collection
More
Earlier today a friend sent me an article from The New York Times entitled “The Cotton Tote Crisis.” It asks, “How did an environmental solution become part of the problem?” Now, I can’t tell you exactly what the story says. My Times account has lapsed and I’m experimenting with liberating myself from the never-ending news
More
It’s a Tuesday morning in August, and women with young children are filing into Rutabaga Toy Library in East Falls, which is hosting a circle time for parents. The welcoming and well-lit space is a testament to the sharp eye that founder Krystal Cunillera developed in the 16 years she spent as a videographer. Like
More
It’s finally here. After a one-year delay, Philadelphia finally implemented the long awaited plastic bag ban on July 1. By July 31, all businesses were required to post signage informing their clients of the ban. This gave stores time to use up any remaining plastic bags left in stock. And by October 1, businesses will
More
It’s hard to believe that only six months ago I wrote an article for Grid lamenting the incredible proliferation of single-use to-go containers due to take-out food during the pandemic and wishing some entrepreneur would come up with a system for reusable containers in restaurants. A lot has changed since then. Of course, many of
More
Alexandra Kroger, energy program director at The Energy Co-op, is hoping that Philadelphia’s biggest utility providers notice the work they are doing and get inspired. “As the demand for our renewable energy products becomes more apparent, PECO and PGW might see that as a market signal favoring renewable energy,” Kroger says. “We can’t speculate if
More
In January 2019, Grid ran a cover that read “Dumpster Fire.” The article, entitled “A Big Waste,” was about the fact that Philadelphia was burning 50% of its recyclables. Keep in mind this was well before the pandemic, so there were no excuses of extraordinary volume or of a depleted workforce. What the article revealed
More
Alexander Torrey’s business idea came to him shortly after he ran out of hand soap. He’d placed an order for another bottle online, and when the replacement arrived, he was dismayed. “It came in a box the size of my kitchen table,” he remembers. He opened the package, pulled out the soap and put it
More