I went to the Gilbert Farmers Market yesterday and to the Ahwatukee Farmers Market this morning. I really love farmers markets! I enjoy selecting fresh produce that was picked within the last 24 hours and didn’t have to travel from another state. I also love talking to the vendors and knowing that I am supporting someone doing their life’s passion. I also enjoy people watching; at least I mostly enjoy people watching.
One of the aspects I do not enjoy when it comes to people watching is the amount of waste that takes place. I bring my canvas bags and a cooler bag every week. You can see in the picture that just a couple items I purchased are in plastic bags. Those items were bagged by the vendor and not by me. Some vendors pre-bag the produce and others allow you to bag it yourself, should you need to use a bag. Personally, I avoid using plastic bags as much as possible. This is a summary of my purchase today:
| Bagged by vendor | No bag required |
|---|---|
| Celery stalk | 2 Cucumbers |
| Carrots | 3 Beets |
| Sweet potatoes | 3 Pomegranates |
| Apples | 6 Garlic |
| Spinach | 5 Persimmons |
| 2 Green onions | |
| Kale | |
| Fennel |
If it were up to me, the only item that would have been in a bag was the spinach. Even when I go to the grocery store to purchase produce, I only put it in a plastic bag if it is wet from the misters. I’ll generally put multiple items in one bag so long as the item is not priced by weight. When I remember, I will bring my own plastic bag from home so I can avoid using a “new” plastic bag. Again, I avoid using plastic bags as much as possible.
Yet, so many people go to the farmers market empty handed. Every produce item they purchase is put in a plastic bag (carrots in a bag, celery in a bag, onions in a bag, and then all of those plastic bags are put in another larger plastic bag. What do they do with these plastic bags when they get home?
I like to think the best of people so I imagine they recycle the plastic bags. I know this takes effort since we can’t put the bags in many of our recycle bins. My husband and I collect our bags and take them to the local grocery store where they have a station set up to collect the bags. I am sure everyone else does this too, right?
Last year Greg and I watched a 2010 movie called “Bag It” (YouTube Trailer) that we got from Netflix (also available on Amazon). I think it would be great for everyone to watch this movie, or something similar. Another movie came out last year called “Plastic Paradise” (YouTube Trailer) about all the plastic bags that end up in the Pacific Ocean. I have not seen this movie. At least these movies get us thinking about
I know everyone doesn’t share my passion for minimal use of plastic bags. Someday I would love to see the ability to recycle plastic bags at the farmers market like we can do at the grocery store. Or better yet, maybe someday we won’t use plastic bags at all.
