Home to Pike Place Market, the oldest farmers market in America, I should’ve known that Seattle would capture my sustainable living heart. I have to admit, Seattle has never been on my top ten list of “must see” cities, but I was really impressed with how smart the city is.
Public Transportation:
We spent three days in Seattle without a car and got around just fine. The light rail system connects the airport to the city center, with numerous stops along the way. It took us about half an hour to make our way from the plane to our hotel. In town, there are several other public transit options, including the Monorail that was originally built for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.
Waste:
Not only does Seattle offer an option for recycling alongside city trash baskets, they also have a third receptacle for compostables – including paper napkins and wooden stir sticks. My friend who lives on the outskirts of Seattle tells me that the garbage service offers a compost container in addition to the big recycle and trash containers. I love that!
Compost receptacle at a conference hall.
Food:
Pike Place Market offers a huge assortment of locally grown produce and fresh fish. It would not be difficult to eat locally here – at least at this time of year. I also noticed numerous restaurants serving locally sourced foods, so even when dining out it’s possible to eat local. I did succumb to a few take out coffees, but in all cases, they came in paper cups (no Styrofoam) and many were compostable (see above).
Shopping:
I took a couple of reusable shopping bags with me, but I noticed that most of the bags given out by retail shops were of the paper variety.
Lodging:
We stayed at the Hyatt Olive 8 thanks to a great media rate and some credit card miles. I chose this particular location for its environmental responsibility. Hyatt Olive 8 was the first LEED certified hotel in this green city and it lived up to my expectations and then some. Also? It is a very nice hotel.
- The hotel features a living roof complete with 24,000 native plants that catch Seattle’s ever-present rainfall and prevent runoff.
- A watt stopper room key means that power is only on when guests are in their room and a dual flush toilet saves water.
- The hotel uses non-toxic cleaning products and offers individual cosmetics in recycled bottles.
- The onsite restaurant, Urbane, serves local, organic produce in season. They do not use or serve bottled water, instead relying on a triple filter system for city water. (Note: we did not eat at Urbane.)
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- Compost receptacle at a conference hall.
I'm glad you discovered Seattle, because it is indeed a model of efficient living that is sustainable. One of the pluses is its neighborhoods. Where some cities in the west sprawl so that a car is an abosolute necessity, in Seattle you can live, shop, eat out, and get around on foot in compact neighborhoods.
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