Blog Archives

Our Plastic Problem

5/22/2021

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:

To The Brim Refill Store on Charlotte Highway in Asheville offers a wide variety of refill products, including low waste beauty products.

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.

Inside Ware, shoppers can relax and take in the beautifully curated stock or refillable and reusable products.

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.

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.

0 Comments

Level up Your Takeout

5/16/2021

0 Comments

Green to-Go by Don’t Waste Durham, an example of sustainable solutions for take-out containers

By Micah McLain and Marcia Schroeder

The increased use of takeout and delivery has been a critical lifeline for many restaurants during
the past year (and counting) of the pandemic. These are two of the many services likely to
remain long after restrictions are eased and safer indoor dining returns. While takeout and
delivery services have plenty of benefits, many restaurants send food in plastic containers that
are not environmentally friendly.

We have all been there—you work late and think “I’ll just order food online”. Thirty minutes later
your food arrives with a staggering amount of waste—plastic cutlery wrapped in film, straws,
sachets of condiments, napkins, Styrofoam, and plastic bags. The rise of food delivery apps has
brought a cornucopia of food to our doorsteps, and with it—mountains of trash.

Remember the 5 Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, and Recycle

Refuse: When you order, let the restaurant know which items you do not need, such as plastic bags, plasticware, and condiments. Many apps and online platforms provide an option to decline unnecessary takeout/delivery items; be sure to look for opt-out options.
Reduce the use of harmful, wasteful, and non-recyclable products.
Reuse any material or product whenever possible. Many plastic to-go containers are designed to be washed and reused over and over.
Repurpose: Common products can serve more than one purpose.
Recycle: A more environmentally friendly waste disposal method compared to landfilling. Recycling comes in many forms: from your blue curbside bin to GreenWorks’ Hard to Recycle events. For more information on Recycling Right visit the City of Asheville’s Waste Wizard.

Why reuse? First, not all delivery packaging is recyclable. Despite recycling more than half of the 82 million tons of containers and packaging products generated in 2018, Americans still sent more than 30 million tons of waste to the landfill. 1

Durham’s GreenToGo is one of several organizations fighting to-go waste by creating localized reuse systems. These systems collect, wash, and distribute durable, sanitized food packaging to reuse hundreds of times. The exact pricing models vary between a small fee for the restaurant and a regular subscription fee for customers who receive access to the services. Durham’s GreenToGo has offered reusable to-go containers through a subscription model since 2017.

Societal knowledge of and enthusiasm for circular systems are growing across a wide range of industries in countries around the world. A circular system seeks to design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use, and regenerate natural systems. Reusable containers have a lower environmental impact than single-use and recyclable packaging when used many times. By keeping reusables circulating in the system, Durham’s GreenToGo and many other companies (GO Box, DeliverZero, Vessel, and OZZI) are changing the world from disposable to reusable, one meal at a time.

Marcia is an outdoor enthusiast and passionate environmentalist. She is grateful to be involved with Asheville GreenWorks and a member of the Plastic Reduction Task Force.

Micah moved to Asheville in October 2020 and discovered Asheville Greenworks when looking for local environmental activism opportunities. He has a background in sustainable business consulting and advertising and lives in West Asheville with his girlfriend and two rescue pups.

1. EPA, Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: 2018 Fact Sheet

This article is presented in partnership with the City of Asheville for the residents of the City of Asheville.

0 Comments

Our Plastic Problem

Level up Your Takeout

AuthorS

Archives

Categories