We call our 1982 Volkswagen Vanagon a "volksvegan" because it is a diesel that my boyfriend modified to run on waste vegetable oil (WVO). This trip has been in the back of our minds since we began looking for a diesel VW over a year ago. Once we finally found one of the rare diesel Vanagons (and my boyfriend drove it from Atlanta, where he bought it, up to Idaho), we immediately began researching and installing a kit from Greasecar that would allow us to run it on veggie oil we collected from local restaurants.

It has been quite a process getting her roadworthy, but after installing a new turbo engine, a second tank and system for the grease, and replacing parts on our old bus bit by bit (including installing the all-important hemp/organic cotton pop-top canvas), we are finally ready to hit the road for the ultimate test of this experimental sustainable fuel.

Question: What are some ways that hotels who produce large volumes of food sraps minimize wastes? Currently all food scraps are thrown into a large commercial compactor bin. Any ideas how this can be overcome and a more eco-efficient strategy adopted?

Answer: My local co-op recently implemented one solution for large amounts of food waste. It's called the Earth Tub, a commercial duty composter made for businesses like hotels and restaurants that produce large amounts of food scraps. It's a self-contained system that quickly composts food scraps, is easy to stir, and can be used year-round.

The Earth Tub is made by Green Mountain Technologies, specialists in composting technologies that describe their product as a perfect sustainable solution for businesses such as hotels:

The Earth Tub is a small scale, in-vessel composting system for recycling organic waste materials at the site where they are generated. Complete with a bio-filter for odor processing and control, this system provides a neighborhood friendly efficient composting technology. The Earth Tub has been developed specifically to meet the composting needs of universities/schools, restaurants/cafeterias, commercial food processors, hospitals, multi-unit residential dwellings, camps and other institutional organic waste generators.

The Earth Tub can process up to 500 pounds of waste a day, and it compacts as it composts. It is also a modular design so it's easy to expand. It is designed for food scraps, yard waste, and needs a bit of dry material like sawdust or shredded paper to control moisture levels. It sounds like a great solution for a large operation like a hotel, and then you could use the compost it creates in your landscaping.

We wrapped up our discussion on sustainability in the design industry by summarizing the challenges facing green design and how we might handle them, and discussed new ideas for bringing about change in our field.

One of many hurdles to the graphic design industry "going green" is a lack of comprehensive resources for designers to turn to. This is slowly beginning to change as sites like Design Can Change and renourish emerge, and little by little, the list of good green design resources is growing. We discussed that there may be a lot of information out there, but much of it is difficult for designers to dive into. Resources for designers seem to work best when they come from designers, and are also well-designed and easy to understand.

There is no specific set of criteria for certification of green design businesses. Jess mentioned that she is having her business certified as sustainable locally, but that the certification process definitely isn't catered to the communications industry, and some of the criteria don't make much sense to her business. Also, such certification really isn't available on a nationwide scale; only certain local entities offer it. Another problem with certification is that, as Dani mentioned, "there isn't one set standard; every designer and every business is going to have their own set of challenges," or even their own definition of sustainability. And, as Eric B pointed out, it's difficult to define standards for green design that are measurable when we don't even seem to have an accepted definition of design within the profession.

In my first report on Green Design Dialogues, I introduced the six participants of our May 25 discussion on green design and summarized a bit of what we talked about. Obviously, sustainability and design is a huge topic, and one these green designers love to talk about, so here is a continuation of our first Green Design Dialogue.

The energy of our conversation was rising as we discussed changes in the design industry. It is clear that designers are slowly beginning a journey towards a more sustainable way of working. Eric K said, "We're crawling, but it may be a little messy before we really work things out." Sustainability really offers a great opportunity for the design industry, and we all agreed that it's taking hold and will be very important to design in the future.

The paper industry is one example of a growing consciousness of green practices. Paper companies are big contributors to pollution and greenhouse gases, and they're slowly realizing it. There are now many sustainable paper options designers need to be aware of as greener papers evolve. Paper distributors, printers, and ultimately, designers, are all starting to pay attention to the chain of custody and all the effects of their paper choices. Of course, many of us agreed that part of the challenge of green design was moving beyond paper.

The Palouse is known as the most important lentil growing region in the United States, producing about a third of all lentils grown nationally. So obviously, local lentils are easy to come by around here, and thankfully they don't have to travel far, which makes them a very sustainable option. There is a large lentil farm just a few miles east of me, and many varieties of local and organic lentils abound in the Co-op's bulk bins. Lentils are a great vegan source of protein, fiber, and other nutrients, so they are one of my favorite kitchen staples.

Sustainability is becoming a pressing concern to the graphic design community. Designers are buzzing about it as they try to green their own practices and make sense of it all. In order to tap into this buzz, I organized a round table virtual discussion with several people involved in the design industry to chat about green design and the growing sensibilities of sustainability in our field.

"Green Design Dialogues" was born as a way to build the green design community and learn from each other. Our first discussion, via instant messaging, was May 25th. We touched on a broad range of topics relating to green design, which I will report on in a series of "Green Design Dialogues" posts in coming weeks. This week, I'll introduce the crew involved with our first Green Design Dialogue and relay each designer's experience with green design before summarizing our discussion.

Involved in the chat were designers from various backgrounds. Bryn Mooth joined us from HOW magazine, a wonderful graphic design magazine that has recently started covering more green topics. Dani Nordin, founder and principal designer at The Zen Kitchen, brought to the discussion her experience with running a small design studio that focuses on green design. Eric Benson is a Professor at the University of Illinois and the creator of the wonderful green design resource renourish. Eric Karjaluoto works at the interactive services firm smashLAB in Vancouver, and was involved in creating Design Can Change, an excellent call to action for the design community. Jess Sand is an independent designer and writer at her communications studio Roughstock Studios, who also writes a great blog on "sustainability for the rest of us," Small Failures. And of course, your humble Green Options design writer, Megan Prusynski, brought everyone together for the chat.

Editor's note: Since we missed the weekend review last week, we thought we'd give you a double shot this week.

On Memorial Day Weekend, Americans gear up for summer with BBQs, road trips, and camping. This year, for a twist on the Memorial Day camping trip, I attended the Sasquatch Music Festival at the Gorge Ampitheater in the middle of Washington. The twist was that the festival was carbon neutral, and so was our transportation.

The Gorge Ampitheater is an impressive venue. On the edge of the Columbia River Gorge, the sun sets just behind the stage and the seating is on grass-covered hillside. The view is spectacular, and since Michael Franti and Spearhead were playing, I had to go.

I was thrilled to find out that the concert was carbon-neutral, through a partnership with Sustainable Energy Partner's Carbon Harmony program (which we covered here). And since my boyfriend and I just got our "volksvegan" waste vegetable oil powered VW van up and running, we made most of the trip carbon-neutral as well!

Sustainability has become a buzz word in the design industry. Graphic design industry magazines such as HOW and Communication Arts are publishing articles (and even entire issues) devoted to green design regularly. Designers are starting to pay attention and change the way they work.

Sustainable and eco-conscious design has been a long time in the making, but the proliferation of web sites and resources on the subject in recent years and months shows that momentum is building. One growing resource, AIGA Center for Sustainable Design, represents, to me, a benchmark in the green design movement.

This portable, self-powered water and sanitation station has many sustainable features, including a composting toilet, rainwater collection and filtration system, and solar panels that, along with a battery, provide all the power the Clean Hub needs and then some. The idea came from folks at Shelter Architecture, but thanks to architecture and design students at the University of Minnesota, it will soon be put to use in New Orleans, where it will be the centerpiece of a community that will foster sustainable growth.

John Dwyer from Shelter Architecture, who also led the students in designing a prototype of the Clean Hub, describes the project:

Shelter developed the idea through a 2 year research and development process. We then brought it in to a studio to allow students to design and build a real world application of it.

The hub is totally off-grid, generating its own water through rain water collection, it's own electricity through photovoltaics, and its own sanitation through composting toilets and gray water irrigation.

The first prototype heads to a learning garden in the hardest hit area of New Orleans on June 21st, the summer solstice.

The design industry has come a long way. There are now many sustainable options for printing and paper, and even web hosting. With more sustainable materials and tools at hand, designers are able to explore greener options and lower the environmental impact of their work. And since graphic designers work hand in hand with the paper industry, which is the largest industrial consumer of water and the third greatest industrial greenhouse gas emitter, it's about time that sustainability became a bigger part of the industry. There is much room for improvement in design, and many changes are on the horizon.