This year, the Kimberley Farmers’ Market has put together a Waste Wise Station (WWS) to help minimize the amount of waste generated by our market. We have been sending compost to the Open Gate Garden, and recyclable materials are washed, sorted and directed to the Yellow Bin Program.
Our goal with the WWS is to make our market completely waste free. With the help of our dedicated volunteers (who you will see by the WWS) and our vendors, who are taking a great leap towards offering waste-free products, the transition has been an enormous success. With that said, we still need your help to take it to the next level! Bring re-usable bags, cups, coffee mugs, straws and food containers with you to the market so we can reduce the amount of single-use items we’re sending to the landfill.
The biggest culprits at this time are, 1 oz. sample cups, disposable coffee cups, paper straws and soiled food containers. Although some of these items are compostable, they are meant for a commercial compost facility in order to break the material down, resulting in their delivery to our local landfill anyways.
After each market, we are reflecting on how to better support this program and our Farmers’ Market customers. In 2019, we are aiming for the WWS to have its own booth, ran by market volunteers, with washing and sorting done on site. We also hope to sell reusable items at the Wildsight booth to better support our customers and help them remember to bring these items back each week.
Thank you in advance for your participation in being responsible with your waste and please contact kimcran@wildsight.ca if you are interested in volunteering to make this program more successful. See you on Market day!
