Greening Farmers Markets: How Communities Come Together to Keep Things Out of the Landfill
摘要
This chapter examines opportunities for greening farmers markets as a way for communities to address climate change and limit landfill waste collectively. Focusing on a local farmers market provides a case study in how a market has transformed itself to embrace sustainable practices through community engagement. Farmers markets are a place where choices can be made to minimize packaging, limit how far food travels, and ensure equitable access to local, sustainable products. In addition, this chapter highlights how farmers markets managers can create market environments that encourage farmers, vendors, and market visitors to limit the use of single-use plastics (bags, clamshells, and bottles), cartons, and cups (coffee and tea) to help combat climate change. I provide examples how local small-scale farmers and artisan vendors recycle, repurpose, rethink, retool, and reconnect with local urban communities to limit waste and limit what ends in the landfill. Creating a culture of mindful sourcing, gathering fresh local harvest or local artisan products illustrates how farmers markets can be at the crossroads for greening the future.