From a practical point of view, I think we have to get people’s attention first. Some of the vendors at the Temescal Farmers Market are really moving in that direction. A few are offering handmade cloth bags for sale. I had a long conversation with Danny from Happy Boy Farm today. They are still using plastic bags, but also selling cloth bags that she makes herself and pushing customers not to use a separate plastic bag for each item. However, she said it’s hard to get people to change.

Danny told me that she actually has had a few customers tell her that they had switched from the Berkeley Farmers Market to Temescal because they could still get plastic bags there. In this area, where people are supposedly enlightened, some of them are choosing plastic bags on purpose!

But a lot of people are bringing their reusable bags or bringing back their plastic bags to reuse. I think it’s a process to get people to think about bringing their own bags. And we don’t want the vendors to suffer because the public forgets their bags and then doesn’t buy because there are no bags offered. These independent farmers are soooo valuable compared to the crap that is sold at Safeway or even the stuff that is shipped from far away at Whole Foods.

I think it’s a balancing act.

And also, at least in Oakland and Berkeley, the bags can be composted. So of course, BioBags don’t help when people take them home to cities outside Oakland or Berkeley. But I think most of them are going to be able to compost.

I’m with you on the paper bags. I think they are the wrong idea. Unless they are made from 100% recycled paper.
.-= Beth Terry´s last blog ..3.7 Pounds of Plastic Waste in 2009 Leads to 2010 Resolutions =-.

What I am wondering is if this ban is correctly placed. The markets ban plastic bags but allow vendors to use paper or biodegradble bags. Isn’t that just not a switch to another type of resource? Shouldn’t it just be an outright ban overall? Great to see a push to the greener side of things but the impact is still there. Biodegradable bags do not just magically degrade if they fly around on the street and many cities do not offer composting yet. Paper can be recycled but produce much more CO2 pollutants when manufactured, are much heavier to transport, requires more trees to be cut down, and many of the smaller sizes are not 100% recycled.

My personal opinion is to ban all single use bags or don’t ban them at all. All we are doing is decreasing the use of one resource and increasing the use of another. It just seems to me its a a simple way for people to get in then news but not a very well thought out process.

Now if only we could get them to extend the end time – it ends SO early in the afternoon!

WRT stickers on produce – two things – a former, youthful, coworker at SL once made a comment that indicated he believed that all the stickers on produce were both edible and biodegradable. I asked him what made him think such a thing – "why would they put something on fruit that isn't edible," he said.

Flash forward to Orr Hot Springs last month – my friend and I walked around the end of the bathhouse and noticed a ton of weird litter on the ground – all the little stickers from fruit peels stayed in the compost pile and when they distribute the soil around, it rich soil full of hundreds of tiny oval/round fruit stickers. Very sad.

Hi Beth,

It is true–we have changed the date. Last week we passed out a letter (which I will attach) that explained why we changed the date to January 1st of 2010. After we distributed the first letter we received many calls from our vendors. We expected some complaints–change is difficult for people. What we didn't realize is that we might have been a bit unprepared ourselves.

Many vendors complained of having a years supply of plastic bags (some of them customized) that they can't return. We never wanted this change to be the reason for monetary loss among our vendors. While they might not be able to use the rest of their supply, they certainly will have more time to use some of it. These vendors also appreciate the extra time they've been given to prepare for the switch to shop around for the best prices on biodegradable bags.

We also noticed a certain bag vendor (who shall remain nameless)trying to sell our vendors "degradeable" bags for a price much cheaper than what true biodegradable bags go for. Unfortunately, these "degradable" bags are not only NOT compostable but they can't even be recycled. We made the mistake of not educating the vendors on what the difference between is between a degradable bag and a biodegradable bag is.

We realized that we may have set the date too soon for ourselves as well. We want to educate the customers who might not know the reasons why we no longer will be allowing plastic bags in the markets and why vendors might be charging a small price per BioBag. We will be rotating among our 10 markets for the rest of 2009 educating customers and selling reusable organic cotton bags for a discounted price ($1).

We hope after giving customers knowledge, we will have even stronger support from the public and in turn, support from our vendors.

I had full intention of sending this e-mail to you sooner. It has been a crazy couple of weeks handling all of the feedback we have been getting. I know how happy you were with the news of the switch and I hope you aren't too disappointed by the extended deadline. There are some vendors who are pleased with the news and have already made the switch. Please voice to them your support.

This switch needs to happen and WILL happen. I am hoping any bumps along the road we have experienced can be lessons for the next farmers' market organization that decides to make the switch as well. Thanks again for your support.

Bianca Pardini
Urban Village Farmers’ Market Association

phone (510) 745-7100
fax (510) 745-7180
e-mail urbanvillage@earthlink.net
website UrbanVillageOnline.com

Jacob

Jacob

Stickers seem like such a small thing compared to other big plastic items. I'd rather go after the big stuff because I think the stickers do serve some kind of purpose, with the codes that they contain. I believe they are a symptom of a bigger issue which is produce shipped in from many miles away. The stickers give information about the produce that is unnecessary at the local farmers market where the farmers have no need for codes.

The first time I saw stickers on fruit was in the early 1980s in Hong Kong. Since then, they've become endemic. But prior to that, I never EVER saw them. They just didn't exist.

The question needs to be asked – if they weren't necessary before the early 1980s, why are they necessary now?

I don't think they are, and maybe we need to lobby the growers that we like our fruit as nature intended – sticker free :-)

As for the stickers, I know they are the bane of your existence :), but during the snowy months when I have to buy fresh veg at a grocery store those stickers are one of the few ways I know where the item came from. Some stores will have a sign indicating this, but not always. The stickers comply with last year's country of origin labeling law.

Happy Birthday! Why is everyone getting so freakin' old? (I guess the alternative is worse.)