Gwen Larned
Santa Monica College Recycling Program Specialist
Today’s Sustainability Storyteller is Gwen Larned, the Recycling Program Specialist for Santa Monica College. Gwen’s been living “toward zero waste” for five years. Gwen graduated from Western in 2018 with a degree in business & sustainability and a minor in entrepreneurship. She spent over four years working in the Office of Sustainability at WWU as the Zero Waste Coordinator and served as an IDEA Changemaker Fellow. Gwen does sustainable-lifestyle coaching for individuals as a side gig and surfs in her free time. She answered some questions about sustainability for us.
Gwen, what does sustainability mean to you and what introduced you to it?
“Sustainability to me is about helping people thrive. I grew up in Leavenworth, Washington, a Bavarian-themed tourist town in the heart of Washington. Working downtown in a tea shop during high school exposed me to the problems that a capitalist economy creates and the waste the results from our consumerism.”
How do you incorporate sustainability into your daily life, and has that changed in the past month?
“I constantly challenge myself to live more sustainably, often self-inflicting new month-long challenges to not buy any material goods, be vegan, or not drive. In general, I practice minimalism and a “reducetarian” diet, recycle and compost religiously, bike to and from work and purchase almost all my stuff second-hand or from sustainable companies. Since life changed a few weeks ago I’ve obviously been stuck at home, which means I basically never have to drive anywhere! I’ve started ordering my groceries from Imperfect Foods which allows me to shop sustainably and kind of zero waste without having to leave home.”
Lastly for now, what will a more sustainable world look like to you?
“In a sustainable world everyone would buy almost all their stuff locally. Standards for manufacturing would be much higher so we could always count on our stuff being made ethically, with fair wages and good working conditions. Our food would be grown organically, and we would all be eating a lot more whole food and fresh fruits and vegetables and a lot less meat and animal products. Our energy needs would be met using natural forces, such as wind, water, thermal heat, and solar. We would only ever use plastic if we absolutely needed to and we wouldn’t need landfills because we would all recycle and compost and we’d invent other tools to eliminate waste. We would have strong, resilient communities where everyone has a home and plenty of food, and health care and access to education.”