Our Plastic Problem

By Maggie Gulick

Picture yourself at the grocery store. Imagine looking around at all the packaging. Every product you want or need is contained in plastic films, bottles, tubs. Even the produce section is full of things like organic cucumbers wrapped in gleaming seals of unrecyclable plastic. 

Have you ever tossed something into the recycling bin hoping it was, in fact, recyclable? Perhaps you hoped putting something you thought should be recyclable in the bin would magically make it so. You wouldn’t be alone; it’s called “aspirational recycling,” and it’s a natural response to the information we’ve been given. 

For years, many good-intentioned and eco-minded people have become complacent in their plastic consumption, because they were assured plastic would be responsibly recycled to its next useful life. Growing awareness of the world's significant plastic problem--think the Pacific Garbage Patch, single-use plastics, and microplastics--has shattered that complacency for anyone paying attention. In recent years, with China no longer accepting the majority of the world's plastic waste, Americans have found themselves (or more to the point, our planet) quite literally choking on plastics. 


A Lifestyle Shift

Cue the rise of the zero-waste movement. The concept is nothing new (respect for our trusty food co-op and farmers markets), but its rise to popularity in recent years may feel to some like the latest millennial trend. Well, some trends last. As consumers become more educated about the effects of plastic on our lives, the zero-waste “trend” is becoming a true lifestyle shift. Sure, it’s chic to show off your reusable canvas shopping bags and instagrammable beeswax wrap, but there is a clear and growing desire by consumers to be better and do better by our planet.
Options for waste-free shopping are becoming more accessible in response to the plastic and packaging piling up across our planet. Asheville has long been home to bulk food stalwarts like the French Broad Food Co-Op and the former Greenlife (now Whole Foods). Today, smaller independent shops and specialized refilleries are expanding options for package-free purchasing of everything from cleaning products to toothpaste tabs and facial serums.
Many of these shops aim for zero waste with their refill sales and stock goods from small eco-minded manufacturers with their own zero-waste goals. Nearly all these places welcome customers to bring their own container (BYOC) or have refillable storage items available for purchase. Many also feature sustainably, ethically, and locally made goods.
Read on to learn about some local Asheville shops making it easier to reduce your plastic footprint. Website links for each shop are provided; be sure to visit their pages for the most up-to-date information on pricing and availability.

Don’t have time to read the whole article? Check out this chart for the quick down-low on some popular Asheville refill stations:

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More Mindful Consumption: Where To Shop

First up, Earth Fare. Its reopening was celebrated by many Ashevillians, but the pandemic had an effect on refill availability. Bulk food is still available but with less variety than in pre-pandemic times. A future shift to more bulk items is possible, but for now, some pantry staples are still available at this chain. 

Next up is Ecolibrium, a refill delivery service and pop-up operation run by UNCA graduate student, Yarina. Pop-ups occur every other Sunday at Haywood Commons Sunday Market, from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. A Haw Creek Commons pop-up is planned for the near future. The shop sources their refill products (dish soap, hand soap and laundry detergent) from a sustainable, small family business called Rustic Strength. Rustic Strength uses low environmental-impact ingredients including aloe, coconut oil, natural sea salt, biodegradable and renewable surfactants; they never use phthalates, parabens, perfumes, synthetic dyes or colors, nor sulfates (SLS and SLES). 

5th Season is known primarily as a garden store, but they also cater to the zero-waste consumer. 5th Season carries dish soap, hand/body soap, shampoo/conditioner, lotion for refill in bulk. Like a few other shops on our list (To The Brim, Ware, and West Asheville Market) 5th Season stocks Refill Stations from Fillaree, an earth-friendly producer of soaps and cleaners, based in Durham, NC. In addition, 5th Season sells a full range of supplies for the aspiring (or current) homesteader including fermentation, canning, and brewing supplies.

Hopey & Co., Asheville’s much-loved family run budget grocery, has reduced its supply of bulk items during the pandemic. They currently pre-portion many of the previously refillable pantry staples. This is likely to change again in the coming months. 

Ah, the French Broad Food Co-op. This long-time purveyor of sustainable food has one of the best bulk sections we’ve seen. Find nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, teas, flours, granolas, beans, maple syrup, vinegars, oils, soy sauce, nut butters, coffee, candy, cleaning products, shampoo, lotion, body wash and more. Like other shops, the Co-op is BYOC. Be sure to have your containers weighed before you fill them! Like the West Village Market- which sells seeds, nuts, nut butters, beans, coffee beans, granola, flours, rice, herbs, medicinal herbs in addition to shampoo, lotions, castile soap, biodegradable cleaner and more- it can be a one-stop-shop for most of your pantry, household, and personal care basics. 

The New Generation

To The Brim Refill Store is a game-changing shop for anyone looking to take their zero-waste shopping to the next level. Owner, Shelby, welcomes shoppers to bring in all kinds of (clean and dry) reusable vessels for refill. She carries many sustainable, ethical personal products and home and kitchen goods like UNpaper towels. The shop has over 80 household, cleaning, and body care products available in bulk. They have a Refill Station from Fillaree and an impressive assortment of bulk personal care items—think vitamin C serum, charcoal masks, and toners—in addition to zero-waste natural beauty line, Zerra & Co. 

Beauty is one of the most plastic-intensive consumer industries (to the tune of 120 billion units of plastic packaging annually); greater awareness of and access to sustainable beauty brands is essential to plastic waste reduction. Shelby is committed to carrying brands like Zerra & Co., which commit to limiting plastic and avoiding single-use plastics altogether in packaging and delivery of their products. Zerra & Co. tries to work exclusively with ingredients suppliers using 100% recyclable and compostable shipping materials (including the tape!). Increasingly, brands—from smaller brands like Zerra & Co. to larger brands like Kjaer Weis and Alima Pure—are also experimenting with returnable and refillable packaging.

Ware is, quite simply, a lovely place to shop. It feels a bit like part old-timey mercantile and part chic homeware store. Gillie, Ware’s owner, stocks plastic and (mostly) package-free personal and home care products like bar soap, shampoo bars, toothpaste tablets, and dishwashing blocks. This includes an array of reusable products like refillable biodegradable dental floss and cotton makeup remover pads. She also carries numerous sustainable and ethically made goods from local makers and a Refill Station from Fillaree. Ware also offers carbon neutral bicycle delivery with Flashcat Courier Co. for customers in the 28801-28806 zip codes for a small $6.00 fee.

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​The Bigger Picture

Zero-waste shopping really means zero-waste consumption. As a movement, zero-waste is tied to much more than reducing plastic waste. It is about creating healthier products and healthier systems to deliver those products to consumers. 

A growing number of online purveyors are connecting consumers with eco-minded, zero-waste brands. Such brands use minimal packaging and aim to distribute their goods with as little waste as possible. Robust, new recycling programs like Terracycle, Loop, and Nordstrom’s BEAUTYCYCLE program are gaining traction with consumers. These programs and brands are great and necessary, but none is enough by itself. Local zero-waste options are a necessary additional step to make zero-waste shopping more accessible to all kinds of consumers. Asheville’s wide variety of zero or near-zero-waste shops make us aware of our consumption habits and how easy it can be to waste less. Everyday products need not be wasteful anymore. Refillable and reasonably-priced bamboo-fiber dental floss, anyone? 

Maggie has lived in Asheville for five years and is a member of the City's Sustainability Advisory Committee on Energy and the Environment (SACEE). With SACEE, Maggie currently focuses on waste reduction working with both Food Waste Solutions and the Plastics Reduction Task Force. ​

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