By Re-Nuble Team
Lena is one out of two of our summer interns that our team was blessed with this year. Hailing from The City College of New York, Lena's energy for all things sustainable and transparent really resonated with our Founder when the two met during CUNY's Internship Fair. Lena's strong facility to communicate a story that resonated with her personal values and advocacy spoke highly of her passion for wanting to tell a story that was consciously right and not trend driven. For this, reason we've enjoyed Lena's contribution to the team to date!
1. What inspired you to want to work with Re-Nuble?
I was inspired to work for Re-Nuble because I have always felt strongly about sustainability within public policy and appreciated Re-Nuble’s ability to maintain sustainable practices within a business. As a business-oriented college student, I knew that I would be entering an industry that did not always pride themselves on sustainability. Therefore, I was ecstatic to receive the opportunity to work for a company like Re-Nuble, one that emphasizes the importance of sustainable practices within their business model.
2. Do you have a green thumb and how do you practice it?
Yes! I have always appreciated the beauty that our surroundings have to offer us. I continuously find myself picking up trash wherever I go and am saddened by the thought of people being so careless. I still find it appalling that one can so easily treat our environment with such little care or appreciation; if they won’t pick it up then I will! However, being a green thumb is not necessarily about picking up garbage off the sidewalk but rather a continuous state of mind. I love to help my grandmother garden in upstate New York and grew up having fresh vegetables from our garden. I believe the most important aspect of being a green thumb is not only maintaining your personal eco-friendly practices, but also educating others on how to do the same.
3. What does a Sustainable NYC mean to you and how do you envision Re-Nuble fitting into that vision?
A sustainable NYC to me means a city in which we do not litter on the sidewalks or within parks, have reduced landfill and are eating all organic through sustainable practices. I envision Re-Nuble giving wholesale food distributors the opportunity to decrease the amount of landfill buildup from their business, while promoting the importance of sustainability. This could lead to the use of Re-Nuble’s fertilizer in all urban farms and distributing all organic produce within major grocery stores. I believe Re-Nuble is a company that can bring NYC into a new stage of existence, through educating and inspiring others to think about the environment with every decision they make. A sustainable NYC could become a leading example for other cities throughout the country, to instill sustainable practices as much as possible.
4. How do you practice aspects of a circular economy/sustainability at home?
At home, I collect the clothing that does not fit me anymore or that I am not wearing too often and take them to a thrift store. In return for exchanging my clothing, I receive store credit and use it to purchase more thrifted clothing when I need. I find this process to be something that many might not consider first hand to be a sustainable practice, but it is! By recycling my clothing, I am able to pass along clothing to another individual without increasing my carbon footprint or creating the need to produce new clothing.
5. What would you like to see Re-Nuble do differently for cities that other companies or brands have failed to do so or have not invested the efforts in creating?
I would like to see Re-Nuble bring their vegetable-waste based fertilizers to all urban gardens within major cities. This will provide farmers with the opportunity to maintain sustainable practices and decrease the amount of landfill from major cities. In tandem with this, I see Re-Nuble providing major cities with the ability to grow and eat all organic. This could change the way society looks at the quality and taste of our food; in doing so promoting organic and healthy eating while remaining sustainable. I would like to see Re-Nuble be the forefront of the industry because they are genuine in their mission, just like their products.