A friend told me that she tired out Leah’s ‘cup’ and had a hard time with it, but didn’t want to comment about something ‘not working’. I told her to comment away because the things that don’t work are the ones we need to focus our energy on! Sometimes you might need a different explanation, and often the product itself still needs a little tweaking, but that’s how we’ll get to real change. Learning and trying things, seeing how they work, and advocating to make them better. I do try pretty hard to find something that does work in a ‘green category’ before I post, but I often go through a few losers on the way.

One such category is coming up all losers. I still haven’t found a compostable sponge that doesn’t suck. Sponges are one of those annoying trash items that I know must have a suitable green option. I envision all the sponges I’ve used in my lifetime sitting in a landfill in Pennsylvania (because that’s where NYC ships their trash), and it irks me. But, I’ve gone through a few of these bad boys and they’re all completely useless. They tend to absorb water and can clean things that don’t have any build up on them, but a dirty pan after it’s been in the oven, no chance. Or the pot we used to cook rice (I know I need a rice cooker), scrubbed and scrubbed; still nothing.

I’ve tried microfiber, I tried this adorable gem from a farmer’s co-op (thanks Mary!), and I’ve tried Trader Joe’s cellulose sponges. Fine to clean off a non-sticky item, but when it comes to the hard stuff (even if I soak it), fail, fail, fail.

The search will continue and I hope to post an update someday. If anyone finds something that works, let me know!