Happy Earth Day!
We love mother Earth at Hunt Street Station. We believe it’s our job to be more than just a profitable business, but one that is ethical and environmentally friendly. It’s not enough to just talk about making changes, we must act. That’s why each quarter we take a look at our environmental impact and suggest improvements and set goals. Every goal is taken seriously, as even the smallest changes can have drastic effects over time, such as composting. Some of the improvements happen internally, some externally. Our hope is to set an example to other businesses across Michigan that you can be both a successful business and an environmentally friendly one.
Since our grand opening in 2018, we have made eight changes at Hunt Street Station. Read more about them below:
1. Adding a Recycling Dumpster
As we continued to grow and add members, there was an obvious increase in waste production. For about six months we had just one dumpster but opted for a recycling dumpster. This increased our total expenses, but we felt it was worth the addition. It’s hard to guesstimate, but we fill the recycling dumpster with cardboard about twice a month. That adds up over the years if we opted to not make the change!
2. Began Composting
We began composting a few months ago at the suggestion of a new employee of one of our tenants. It’s affordable and you’d be surprised at the amount of food waste that goes into the trash each week. We use Midtown Composting, a local composting company in Detroit. They pick up the composting weekly and surprisingly it doesn’t smell!
3. Changing K-Cups
We changed our K-cups to a compostable option. This is one we felt guilty about for a while, as we go through a large number of pods each month. We are still looking for the right coffee machine to fit our needs, but in the meantime, the compostable pods are still better.
4. Neighborhood Clean-ups
Each year we host 4-6 neighborhood clean-ups. For us, it wasn’t enough to make changes internally. We wanted to beautify our neighborhood and encourage our neighbors to follow suit. Each clean-up we end up with 8-10 full trash bags.
5. Adding Water Stations
We recently added our first water station to the building. This will cut back on plastic bottle usage. Our plan is to install two more after the pandemic passes.
6. Adding Bike Racks
This seems like an obvious one, but we wanted to promote more green-friendly travel to and from Hunt Street Station. A few of our members ride bikes regularly so this was a great option. Because of our great location near Eastern Market, we hope to encourage more of our Detroit residential members to change over to biking.
7. Buying Green Products
Again, though these options are a bit more expensive, we believe in our cause and made the switch about a year ago. All of our cleaning products are environmentally friendly. Not only is this better for the Earth, but also our members who now don’t have to worry about the toxins!
8. Planting
We are constantly adding plants both inside and outside of our building. In fact, it takes us about an hour each week to water all the plants in the building! Outside, we have a green space and planters lined around the building. We all know the benefits of plants!
Conclusion
We hope to encourage each of you reading this to look at the small improvements you can make in your life. A lot of our members have taken these methods home, like a ripple effect. Let’s make everyday Earth Day!
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