Tori King
Earth day is a good reminder that we can always improve our habits, including picking up a few more that keep our planet in top condition, and two local companies are proving you don’t have to go very far to get help making those greener choices. Although living more sustainably can seem intimidating, it can really be as simple as taking the bus, or changing out your laundry detergent.Coachella Valley residents Miranda Lopez and Basil Martinez are living proof that a more sustainable lifestyle is easier to achieve than you may think.”We’re constantly, constantly doing things that aren’t the best for our planet, said Martinez, who co-owns It Refills with Lopez. “You want to use the cleaner, the more safer option. We have to think about the next generation”It Refills is a local Palm Desert store helping people ditch single use plastics and harmful chemicals. It’s a zero-waste refillery for every day household items. Instead of going to the store and buying single use plastics that make their way back into landfills and our oceans, It Refills offers a sustainable way to get, use, and reuse things like clothing, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, laundry detergent, yoga mats, even dog wash and room spray.”We wanted sustainability to be exciting,” said Lopez. “Accessible and easy to jump into. You can start with just a deodorant bar, then slowly start building your collection. A lot of people will start with just a few products, and then they eventually switch over all their household needs to zero waste.” Event the store itself was built with sustainability in mind. “For the design, we were inspired kind of by breeze blocks,” explained Lopez. “So we used cinder blocks and wood sealed that with beeswax, and everything was cut and made to the space. And so we’ve been kind of adding and growing and building into it, doing it all ourselves.”
It Refills is a self-serve store that uses glass containers to hold their products.
“We definitely wanted to minimize waste, and we were finding it pretty difficult to find good, clean ingredients and products that weren’t in single use plastics,” said Lopez. “And so here, all of the bottles that we have are glass. We encourage customers to bring their own container in, or they can start a container here with us.” Then when its empty, you simply bring it back and refill it. Customers even get a discount for bringing back the container.
It Refills also donates soaps to local charities, including Martha’s Village, who provides free showers to homeless folks living in the Coachella Valley.
Another company that promotes renewable energy is SunLine Transit Agency. They have been a pioneer for green technologies in transit operations for three decades now, operating off hydrogen technology. Edith Hernandez, the Director of Board and Legislative Affairs with SunLine Transit says the technology is helping to reduce the carbon footprint here in the Coachella Valley.
“If ever you see a hydrogen bus out on the road and you see anything coming out of that tail pipe that’s actually just water,” said Hernandez. “So if you’re thinking about a clean bus, it’s not gas, it’s not diesel. Hydrogen, it’s completely clean.”
Hernandez also says using a SunLine Bus is easier than most people may think.
“If anybody does want to take the bus, it’s actually only one dollar,” said Hernandez. “So it’s very economically friendly for anybody that wants to zip around town and maybe doesn’t even want to drive.”SunLine has 32 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, that’s more than 50% of their fleet operating here in the Coachella Valley. The company is on track to meet the state’s ICT zero emissions regulations by 2035, five years ahead of the state deadline.
On Tuesday, SunLine also provided free rides to residents in honor of Earth Day, however, the company says it promotes renewable energy every day by offering an affordable, renewable source of transportation. “We can see all the congestion here and we really want to reduce the carbon footprint,” said Hernandez. “We know that the air quality in the Coachella Valley hasn’t been the best. So what can we do to help make that just a little bit better? Anybody can hop on one of our busses and go to either their doctor’s appointments, or if they just want to go to any any place, any key destinations, they can just get on the bus. They’re air conditioned. They have wifi.” Both companies show making little, more sustainable choices every day, pay off by benefiting our planet in the long run.If you would like to learn more about It Refills, click here.
To learn more about SunLine Transit Agency click here.
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