Columbus Monthly / October 2010 / Honey, who shrunk the trash?

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Honey, who shrunk the trash?

A two-year-old Dublin store focuses on an environmentally friendly lifestyle, already practiced by its savvy owners.

One minuscule bag of trash per week. That’s what the four-person household of Heather and Steve Johnson of Westerville produces. “Such a tiny bag, in fact, the garbage collectors sometimes miss it and drive right on by,” says Heather, who co-owns the Generation Green store in Dublin with her husband.

The 36-year-olds diligently practice at home what they preach in public—environmentally-friendly living—and to them it’s easy and natural. Their goal of nearly-zero trash is achieved through a family effort of composting, aggressive recycling, purchasing items with minimal packaging and opting for reusables instead of disposables whenever possible.

For Steve, the environmentally conscious lifestyle started early. Growing up in Sylvania, Ohio, his family participated in curbside recycling. During his college days at Kent State, he restructured the university’s then-minimal recycling program and ran it for a year upon graduation. After that he went into the construction industry, working for two different companies as a project manager.

It was their own continuous quest for eco-friendly goods, however, that drove the couple to launch their independent retail venture two years ago. “We couldn’t find everything we needed in one place, those healthier products,” Steve explains. “There had to be others like us.” Less than a year after opening Generation Green, they were recognized with an Emerald Award by the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio for their ecology-minded entrepreneurship.

“But it’s not a granola chick or a tree hugger store,” Heather hastens to say. “It’s fun.”

Heather’s background is in fashion merchandising and retail, with a résumé that includes Cacique, Ethan Allen and Beazer Homes. Heather sprinkles lots of color throughout the vintage and recycled display cabinets: fuchsia, pale pink, lime and neon blue Klean Kanteens, stainless steel drinking bottles. Bright multi-colored handbags and clutches woven from recycled juice boxes. Sky blue and aqua kitchen towels made from 100 percent organic cotton. And reusable shopping totes in vivid red, yellow and cobalt, many with their own sack.

Heather points out unique gifts as she pauses in front of the spoon rests and cheese trays fashioned by the Beaded Bottle from vodka bottles. Westerville residents Linda Schirtzinger and Vickie Delfino melt the recycled name-brand vodka bottles—Belvedere and Grey Goose are the top sellers—in Schirtzinger’s garage kiln and bead the flattened bottles for a festive effect. “I go to the bars and pick up their recycled bottles,” Schirtzinger says. “I have lots of people saving them for me.”

Make no mistake, though: There are plenty of items for hardcore greeners too. For capturing rainwater, Generation Green sells heavy-duty, 60-gallon rain barrels that attach to the downspout. The barrels have a spigot for the garden hose, which makes watering the outdoor plants easier. Steve lists the additional benefits of collected rainwater: “It’s not chlorinated, not freezing cold and you save money on the water bill.”

Steve can be persuasive about creating a compost pile, too. “With compost the environmental change is immediate,” he says. “One pound of food scraps is one pound you’re not sending to the landfill. Compost is free dirt, free fertilizer. So then you don’t have to buy packaged dirt and throw away its plastic bag.”

“You can put leftover pasta, stale bread, coffee grinds, leaves, tea bags, eggshells, things like that, in your compost pile,” adds Heather. “Just no dairy, meat or bones.” To keep the collection process tidy in the kitchen, Generation Green stocks ceramic and stainless steel compost pails in a variety of sizes. Each is equipped with a replaceable carbon filter in the lid “to take the yuck out,” adds Heather.

For the school lunch crowd, and particularly for the Johnsons’ own children, Jacob, 7, and Hope, 4, the store owners encourage a waste-free lunch with reusable containers. Once, before a class trip, Jacob’s teacher suggested he bring a disposable lunch to make things easier. “Jacob had no idea what a disposable lunch was,” she says. “He’s always used his Bento system.” Available in purple or pink, the lunch system resembles a Japanese Bento box. It has an insulated carrying case with its own reusable drink bottle and utensils, and includes a booklet of fun lunch ideas.

SnackTAXIs are another lunchbox staple for the Johnson household. Seven years ago, a Massachusetts mother, alarmed by the number of plastic sandwich bags she was contributing to the landfill, stitched reusable sandwich bags out of cloth for her three school-age kids. Now known as snackTAXIs, the sandwich and snack bags are made from 100 percent cotton, lined with polyurethane-coated nylon and are machine-washable.

Toys in the kids’ corner reflect eco-sensibilities, too—a big green recycling truck is constructed from 100 percent recycled plastic. “And it doesn’t contain lead or bisphenol-A, no phthalates,” says Heather, citing recent concerns over toxic traces in some children’s toys. Wooden blocks by Schoolhouse Naturals are solid maple and chemical-free. Sustainably harvested wood and recycled materials are used in the eco-friendly dollhouse by PlanToys, complete with its own miniature solar panel, wind turbine, recycling bins and rain barrel.

Whether it’s farm-fresh food for their table at home or organic bath and beauty products in their store, the Johnsons support local trade. Hocking Hills resident Kristina Laszlo supplies Generation Green with an organic body care line, With Nature in Mind, featuring lotions, bath oils and handmade soaps.

Copper saved from the scrap heap during a roofing project at the Ohio State University becomes jewelry in the hands of Columbus designer Crystal Bolon. Vintage glass and ceramic beads also figure prominently in her work. And local artist Mara Marcom scours thrift shops and friends’ discard piles for felt, wool, cashmere and other unusual fabrics to create flowers, which can be attached to pins and hair clips for a retro fashion statement. Marcom has scored some interesting supplies at the Waste Not Center on Fisher Road, where, for a small annual membership fee, she and other artists, educators and students match their needs with stockpiles of donated paper, fabrics, props, paints and office supplies. (Generation Green is a drop-off point for the program.)

For some, going even partially green seems overwhelming. Steve recommends starting small. “Pick one thing,” he suggests. “Take a look at your daily life and see where you’re throwing things out. Like paper napkins. Try using cloth napkins instead.”

Today, he and Heather spread their environmental enthusiasm clear across the spectrum, from talks with area preschoolers to lectures on sustainable business practices at Ohio State.

“Everything you do has a direct impact, everything you buy is a vote,” says Steve. With his own children in mind, he says, “It’s all about this generation, and their legacy.”

But some members of that young generation still like to poke fun. When Steve’s nephews visit, they threaten to throw things in the trash. Just to see if they can get a rise out of their uncle. “That’s hilarious, guys,” Steve responds, shaking his head.

Rhonda Koulermos is a freelance writer.