A Case for Refill Stations
Go on a journey towards more zero-waste thinking with us and visit the Westwood Village market on the 4th Thursdays of the month when we have a Refill Station with Sustain LA!
We’ve heard the statistics…
In the Los Angeles area alone, 10 metric tons of plastic fragments—like grocery bags, straws and soda bottles—are carried into the Pacific Ocean every day.
50 percent of the plastic we use, we use just once and throw away.
The average American throws away approximately 185 pounds of plastic per year.
We currently recover only five percent of the plastics we produce.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located off the coast of California is the largest ocean garbage site in the world. This floating mass of plastic is twice the size of Texas, with plastic pieces outnumbering sea life six to one.
Photo curtesy of BlueOcean.net
All of which are reason why the #ZeroWaste and #ZeroWasteJourney trends on social media are becoming increasingly pertinent. Refill Stations are for those on a #ZeroWasteJourney, making any effort they can to reduce single-use plastic consumption.
Refill stations, like Sustain LA who will be at our Westwood Village Farmers’ Market every fourth Thursday of the month, bring bulk items like detergent, shampoo, natural cleaners, deodorants, and more for people to refill their own glasses or bottles. Other zero-waste approved utilitarian items like reusable napkins, stainless steel straws, or metal lunch boxes can also be found at a refill station.
Thoughts leaders in this space caution that the journey to reducing plastic is not about perfection. And while our Markets are not free from plastic, we are doing our best to reduce market-wide use and to provide opportunities for market shoppers to practice zero-waste intentions too.
Remember, our Take a Bag, Leave a Bag program is there for you to take advantage of if (and when) you forget a reusable bag. And as the name suggests, consider donating an under-loved canvas bag(s); we will gladly add it to our collection!
If you frequent the farmers’ market for the health of your body and for our environment, consider visiting us when we have a popup refill station and go on a journey towards more zero-waste thinking with us!