Plastic Free July is a global initiative challenging everyone to reduce their plastic waste. Originating in Australia in 2011, it has grown to include millions of participants around the world, raising awareness about the detrimental effects of single-use plastic on the environment. While this likely isn’t new news to you, we think it will bring more awareness of our reliance on this petroleum-based product, which sadly ends up in our water, food, and even our bodies.

For the month of July, our bulk room will have no single-use plastic bags and containers. Instead of plastic bags, we will offer paper and cellulose bags. Instead of plastic containers for honey and oil, we will offer compostable soup cups or paper cartons (the ones the kitchen uses) and glass jars through our Jar Savers Program.

We’ll encourage you to bring your own containers and bags—and we will even give you a bean for every five plastic or cloth sacks/jars you reuse.  And yes, this challenge will be in bulk only. There will still be bags available in produce, as we’re not quite ready to challenge ourselves that much! But it will make all of us think, for sure.

This year the Food Co-op is going to ask our shoppers to look squarely at our dependence on single-use plastics and explore how we could manage without them. Plan now, we all know it’s hard to do the right things without the tools needed to be successful. And while we know it will make a lot of us think twice, and maybe even feel a little bit stressed out about shopping, I think we’re up for it!

• Carry reusable water bottle, cup, straw, and utensils.

  • We give .25 cents off your coffee drinks for bringing your own cup/mug

• Ditch plastic cling wrap in the kitchen and store food in reusable glass, beeswax wrap, or a tin.

• Look for plastic-free bar shampoo, lotion, and deodorant in our wellness department.

• Reusable mesh produce bags (great for citrus, onions, apples or other root veggies).

• Using silicone reusable bags like Stasher bags for things like sandwiches, cut fruit and vegetables and even your cooked leftovers.

• Shopping in our bulk department for things like, pasta, rice, nuts and oats

• In Wellness, get Daniella Chase’s book - Home Detox, Make Your Home a Healthier Place for Everyone Who Lives There for ideas on making your own cleaning products.

To learn more about this worldwide movement, check out Plastic Free July – Be Part of the Plastic Pollution Solution.