No more single-use plastics at Troy Farmer's Market (WRGB)

The following story was first broadcast by WRGB on Jan. 4, 2020.

by Briana Supardi
Saturday, January 4th 2020

TROY (WRGB) The Collar City can say goodbye to one-stop shop plastic bags when it comes to their favorite farmer’s market.

Starting Saturday, the Troy Farmer’s Market is eliminating single-use plastics in an effort to reduce plastic waste and be more sustainable.

“Instead we’re encouraging them to bring their own bags and we’re moving to compostable bags such as paper and PAL/PLI plastics that will compost,” said Zack Metzger, Market Board President.

Metzger says these compostable plastic bags are biodegradable and more sustainable than traditional ones, reducing their impact at the landfill.

The move comes just under two months before New York’s plastic bag ban goes into effect in March.

“We really thought about using recyclables instead but we also know that our recycling is not going anywhere right now. Most recycling is going directly to the landfill in America,” said Metzger.

The market has set up designated “Waste Stations” designed to educate people on where they should properly dispose them.

“People are receptive to change. I think it’s just going to take some time for it to run smoother than it is because people are not exactly sure where everything goes as far as what you recycle and all that,” said Brenda Morehouse, a customer at Troy Farmer’s Market.

“I think people are excited about it, that we want to care about the environment,” added Morehouse.

The reaction among vendors has also been mostly positive.

“I do think, you know, it’s more difficult for vendors, for different vendors, especially if they haven’t been trying to do these things from the beginning. I think maybe it’s a big change for them, but I think it’s the direction we all need to go in, so doing it all together I think makes it easier,” said Jessica Garrity, owner of Collar City Cold Pressed.

That’s why the market is not only dedicated to supporting sustainability, but also teaching about it.

The market gets help doing that with Justin DuPont, who mans the Sustainability Booth. He provides educational resources for not only customers, but also the vendors.

“The amount of plastics that are produced in the world 20 years ago was about 117 billion tons. Now it’s close to 400 billion tons. To put that in perspective, 400 billion tons is about the weight of every single person in the world that we’re producing in plastic every year and 91% of that is not getting recycled,” said DuPont.

“Generally, at the end of the day, we all want to do better and know that we’re having a positive impact on the world around us and I think this is a way we can do that,” said Metzger.