April 7th, 2009 · No Comments

By Laura Elizabeth May
Green Right Now

Berkeley Farmers Markets announced Monday that it will be the first farmers market to eliminate the use of plastic bags and packaging from their three weekly markets. They will be hosting a Zero Waste Event on April 25 from 10 a.m. – 3p.m to kick off the new campaign.

“Berkeley, a city known for its progressive politics, is once again taking the lead by phasing out plastic bags and packaging at its farmers’ markets,” said Ben Feldman, Program Manager of the Berkeley Farmers’ Markets, in a statement. The plastic bags are harmful for the environment and can take up to 400 to 1000 years to break down.  The markets now encourage shoppers to bring their own cloth bags or previously used paper or plastic bags.

As a recommendation from the committee, the farmers will be asked to charge $.25 a bag in hopes of discouraging customers from using them. Vendors at the markets have the opportunity to purchase compostable bags, made from renewable resources from the Ecology Center at half price.

Berkeley is just one of the nations current farmers markets that are considered Zero Waste Zones. The Boulder, Colorado farmer’s market was the first to initiate a Zero Waste Campaign, which focused on not generating waste by reducing and recycling plastic bags and packaging. Monterrey and Irvine, Calif., have started to eliminate plastic bags but not packaging.

For more information about the Berkeley Earth Day celebration check out this website.

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