Comments on: Irritated with Plastic Berry Containers? Give Them Back.

By: Karen

Karen — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:37:50 +0000

http://www.Glacierv.com sells the dreaded plastic clamshells, BUT also has a fair selection of pulp (biodegradable) berry tills, at a reasonable price. A group of us split the cost of purchasing an assortment. We kept some for ourselves, and donated the rest to vendors at the local farmers market. Our berries and tomatoes travel squish free, and if the containers get soiled or damaged, it is into the compost pile–not the landfill!

By: Plastic, Plastic Everywhere And In Our Air | Moms Clean Air Force

Plastic, Plastic Everywhere And In Our Air | Moms Clean Air Force — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:37:47 +0000

[...] Visit your local farmers market to find local produce with the least plastic, and where you can hand plastic berry baskets back to the vendors to reuse. And bring your own reusable bulk bags and containers to buy unpackaged food from the bulk [...]

By: Amber

Amber — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 17:55:52 +0000

I buy my salsa (in glass jars) at my farmers’ market. There’s no plastic, but the lady who makes it wants her jars back so badly that she offered to drive to my house to pick them up. Returning packaging of all kinds is not only environmentally friendly, as you point out, it also saves farmers and other food vendors money. They’ll thank you!

By: Betsy (Eco-novice)

Betsy (Eco-novice) — Mon, 30 May 2011 21:56:11 +0000

Checked on Saturday with my favorite farm stand at the Farmer’s Market — they DO take back the berry containers AND they give you a discount when you do! I have a big stack in my garage I was trying to figure out how to reuse (since they don’t have a number or recycling system, and I wasn’t sure if I could recycle them) — now i’ll take them back!

By: Sharon Rowe

Sharon Rowe — Mon, 30 May 2011 19:54:17 +0000

I buy eggs from a friend of mine. Not only is she glad to get the cartons back but will take any other egg cartons I have.

By: Dmarie

Dmarie — Mon, 30 May 2011 13:49:32 +0000

gotta love it that the farmer’s market vendors will take the stuff back. Only one that couldn’t do so around here was the honey vendor. They said KY state law requires new jars for their product. I can see why if high heat might affect the jars but *sigh*

By: chicknlil

chicknlil — Sat, 28 May 2011 17:59:16 +0000

Thanks so much for the reminder! Our market just opended & I bought the last container of feta. I will make sure the farmers get it back. I’m sure regulations are different on egg contianers according to where you live. Here it is legal but not a ‘best practice’, which is bull. I find that once people start saving them, it is Really hard for them to stop. When I sold eggs, people would return all sorts of cartons. Some, their kids colored (which was great) and some that were nasty dirty (not great). All of the clean cartons went out for imediate re-use. The styrofome (sp?) nasties I washed by hand which was time consuming but I didn’t want to waste them. The paper ones were recycled, but I never turned down cartons. Recently, my Granny got one of my used cartons (with an old label) and I’ve been out of eggs for 4 years! (My hens went to folks with back yard flocks.)
Our market re-opened after being shuttered for several years. It seems like people are finally starting to tune in and vote with their dollars. It’s great to see the market vibrant and enthusiastic. Out in the boonies, people should cherish the incredible abundance that is all around us and act accordingly. I think green is finally main stream!

By: Kelly Garriott Waite

Kelly Garriott Waite — Sat, 28 May 2011 02:44:00 +0000

Good ideas, as usual.
I’ve passed along the Versatile Blogging award to you from my site.

By: Betsy (Eco-novice)

Betsy (Eco-novice) — Fri, 27 May 2011 16:12:14 +0000

Brilliant! I will definitely try this. I buy Glaum’s eggs sometimes too. : )

By: Brenna @ Almost All The Truth

Brenna @ Almost All The Truth — Thu, 26 May 2011 17:32:02 +0000

Love this! I am going to have to check with our farmers market vendors once it gets started for the year and see if they do something similar. I am going to make a real effort to visit more often this year!

In the past we have also utilized an organic produce delivery service and they always take containers back to reuse. It never hurts to ask and look around for a service or vendor that will do so. Of course, not everyone has the luxury of such choices. Those of us that do should try to take advantage though.