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Dormont store dedicated to sustainability and zero waste

By Brad Hundt 4 min read
article image - Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
Marty Smyczek operates Zieros in Dormont, a store dedicated to zero waste and sustainability.

DORMONT-It would take most of us a year, maybe, to get through one of those jumbo boxes of 200 tall kitchen trash bags you can buy at a big box store.

It would take Marty Smyczek 400 years.

Smyczek has been so diligent about leading a life that produces minimal waste that it took him two years to fill one garbage bag when he was living in a house in South Fayette Township.

It all started on New Year’s Day in 2017 and, according to Smyczek, “I made it a personal challenge to see how low I could go. I audited everything I did in my life. … I’m creating the same amount of trash right now.”

And he has extended his zeal for sustainability to a store he operates in Dormont. Called Zieros, it stocks products that will generate as little waste as possible. The range of eco-friendly wares he has available includes everything from biodegradable dish cloths to rock crystal deodorant and bamboo safety razors and sporks for children.

“Everything is a full-on research project of its own,” Smyczek explained. “Everything in here is the product of mind-numbing research.”

There are other stores in the Pittsburgh region that offer sustainable products and other stores that are dubbed refilleries because they offer customers the opportunity to replenish their supplies of household or personal care items in containers that are either biodegradable or reusable. But Smyczek said his store is built on “almost 20 years of zero waste and sustainable experiences,” and is committed to offering everyday goods at reasonable prices.

“Zieros isn’t comparable to any other store that doesn’t seriously put sustainability first,” he said. “The rest are just typical business models trying to sell as much as they can, to everyone they can, no matter the items they are selling.”

Smyczek looked at putting Zieros in other Allegheny County communities, but finally settled on Dormont because “I wanted to be in a community where (residents) could walk and they wouldn’t be exposed to a more sustainable option. The people I want to expose this to are just walking by.”

Planting Zieros in Dormont is also something of a homecoming for Smyczek, who is 44 and a graduate of Keystone Oaks High School. Now a Scott Township resident. he explained that his parents were raised on farms, so he naturally used and reused everyday items. But his interest deepened starting around 2008, and after he was laid off from a job as a graphic designer in 2012, “down the rabbit hole I went,” Smyczek said.

In his everyday life, Smyczek composts all organic materials and patches his jeans rather than purchasing new ones. In his store, signs urge patrons to take photos with their phones rather than scribble notes in order to save paper. He also brings his own to-go container to restaurants, and has mostly given up meat for legumes, rice and beans, but he does admit that “meat is a treat for me.”

“I’ve developed a ‘zero waste and sustainable’ mental filter which everything in my life goes through,” Smyczek said. He did say that he doesn’t hold a “100% view 100% of the time” on sustainability, but “it’s like 99.9%.”

“Because in emergencies all bets are off,” he pointed out. “If it’s an end-of-the-world scenario, and the only option is to eat a crappy, plastic-wrapped fast food cheeseburger, it’s being eaten.”

Smyczek works to spread the message about living a more sustainable life through “Sustainable Saturday” sessions at the Dormont Public Library, where he leads discussions and workshops. Among the topics that have been covered are bike repairs, sewing and recycling.

On a recent afternoon, Susan Mucha of Crafton made her first visit to Zieros. After purchasing a few things, Mucha said she is always working to be more sustainable in her everyday life.

“I’ve been recycling stuff for a long, long time,” she said.

Eco-friendly products can sometimes be more costly than typical, conventional items, but Smyczek believes Zieros is “not about selling more junk to people. It’s about helping them make more sustainable decisions.”

He also holds the view that “the problem isn’t consumption, it’s overconsumption.”

“Overconsumption is a big problem in all aspects. And it’s up to us as individuals to understand this, and take back the power that we have given to companies that are pushing us all to consume, consume, consume. And use only what we need.”

More information on Zieros is available at zieros.life.

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