Let’s have a friendly chat about something important: garbage. Yep, people create quite a lot of it, and sometimes we toss away things that could actually be repurposed or reused. Unfortunately, this kind of consumption isn’t doing any favors for our environment. Trash ends up in landfills, streams, airways, and even the ocean, polluting our planet.

One major culprit in our global waste stream is single-use plastic. Plastic-Free July is an international movement that encourages everyone to be more mindful of the plastics we discard daily. Despite the name, the idea here is not perfection but a concerted effort toward harm reduction. In some cases, we’re stuck with plastic for health and safety reasons, as accommodations due to disability, or because people don’t have equal access, opportunity, or resources to choose more sustainable options.  That’s okay. The conversation is ongoing, and we urge everyone to push for better alternatives, educate themselves about how plastics are manufactured and recycled, and urge your community to develop more sustainable policies at the government level. 

All of these issues can feel very overwhelming, so let’s start with some simple ways you can participate in a Plastic-Free July when you visit the Co-op:

Bring your own coffee cup

When you bring your own travel mug to the cafe, you can get a price break on coffee refills. We also carry colorful kleen kanteens if you need a new travel mug. And all our coffee and tea is from Equal Exchange, which is a fair trade cooperative! 

Carry your silverware

Keep your silverware close at hand by simply wrapping it in a napkin and carrying it with you in your backpack, car, or purse. If you don’t want to misplace your spoons, check out our options from To-Go Ware, including travel kits and bamboo utensils. Easy peasy!

Buy in bulk

Pay a visit to our awesome bulk foods department, where you can choose exactly how much of an item you need. We’ve got handy paper bags, jars, and canisters for your convenience, or better yet, bring your own clean reusable container from home. At the Co-op, it’s a breeze—just weigh and fill!

Bring your reusable water bottle

Stay hydrated and help save the planet by bringing your trusty water bottle. We have a water station as well as sinks in the cafe, and guess what? Refilling your bottle is absolutely free! Hydration for the win!

Bring a bag, grab a box

Say goodbye to those pesky single-use plastic grocery bags – we haven’t had them here for years! Bring your own reusable bags, or if you prefer, feel free to use a recycled box from the Co-op. We also have stylish totes in all kinds of colors and designs. We’ve got options to suit your shopping style!

Skip the produce bags

Let’s skip those little bags for your fruits and veggies. Instead, bring your own cloth produce bags, or pick up a few extra from the co-op. We have tons of styles of small bags and wraps! Or simply let your produce roam free in your shopping cart – your veggies won’t mind!

If you’re curious about different earth-friendly initiatives happening behind the scenes at the Co-op, check out our website’s sustainability page. And don’t forget to learn more about Plastic Free July at plasticfreejuly.org. It’s a great resource to discover alternatives to single-use plastic and build lifelong habits that positively impact both the local and global environment. You can be part of the solution, too!

We’d all like to make more earth-friendly choices when we’re shopping, but it can be confusing to discern what different labels mean. Here’s a handy guide to some sustainable symbols, brands, and certifications, so you can keep an eye out when you shop.

One Percent for the Planet is an international organization whose members contribute at least one percent of their annual revenue to environmental causes to protect the environment. The aim is to offer accountability, prevent greenwashing and certify reputable giving.

From fighting deforestation and climate change to building economic opportunities and better working conditions for rural people, the Rainforest Alliance is working to solve urgent environmental and social challenges.

The term “organic” refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed. While the regulations vary from country to country, in the U.S., organic crops must be grown without the use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers, or bioengineered genes (GMOs).

Friend of the Sea has become the leading sustainable seafood certification standard for products and services that protect the marine environment. The certification awards sustainable practices in Fisheries, Aquaculture, Fishmeal and Omega 3 Fish Oil.

Tree Free Greetings has a 200-panel photovoltaic array that provides roughly 65,344-kilowatt hours per year of clean, renewable electricity. That’s enough electricity to power 10 average New England homes per year! Tree-Free’s on-site printing operation is 100% powered by the sun.

To become Climate Neutral Certified, a company must show that it is working to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from making and delivering its products and services – and compensates for all of them, every year.

We have a lot of wonderful sustainability projects and practices happening here at the Co-op, including collecting food waste, recycling, reducing plastic usage, and more. But we’re not just focused on keeping trash out of the landfill and trying to reduce our carbon footprint, we’re also actively working towards adding biodiversity to our landscaping.

You’ve probably heard about No Mow May, which lets the flowering plants in our lawns have a chance to bloom a little longer and benefit local pollinators. We’ve set aside a section of our front slope facing Bethlehem Road for this purpose, and we’ll most likely keep it un-mowed through the summer, with perhaps a little trim here or there. Eventually, we hope to incorporate additional native plants and wildflowers into the space so it becomes a wild garden full of colors and textures that change with the seasons, as well as providing a habitat for local wildlife.

Here are some photos of the area, along with a close-up of some interesting plants that are popping up. So far we’ve spotted dandelion, yarrow, plantain, chickweed, sorrel, clover, trefoil, cinquefoil, and more. An interesting patchwork of colors and textures is emerging, where once it was a plain green slope. Keep your eyes on our lawn to see what else grows!