Alphington Farmers' Market adopts good practices for making a change
Melbourne Farmers Markets has been operating vibrant markets across Melbourne since 2002. They understand how small steps can add up to meaningful change.
At their community-led Alphington Farmers Market, they're tackling problematic single-use plastics by introducing a wash station to avoid the need for disposable cups, plates and cutlery which would previously end up in landfill.
A commercial dishwasher operated by staff and volunteers cleans around 500 reusable cups per day. And by working with Waste Ninja, they saved more 13,000L of food going into the landfill.
Watch the video to learn more.
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Visual summary
This video shows scenes of eliminating single-use plastics around Alphington Market and interviews three people.
The three speakers are:
- Miranda Sharp, Founder and Director, Melbourne Farmers’ Markets
- Julian Fang, Owner, In Season Juices
- Amelia Trompf, Volunteer, Melbourne Farmers’ Markets.
Text
Miranda: We’ve got all sorts of waste reduction initiatives at Melbourne Farmers’ Markets. We firstly banned the plastic shopping bag in 2007, and since then we've introduced a wash up station to tackle the single use plastics in the food and events industry. We wash up about 500 cups a day. The punters return their cups after they've enjoyed them around the market. And then we have a commercial dishwasher that our staff or volunteers assist us with washing up. And of course, they go back into the system over and over.
Julian: It just makes sense to be able to provide a glass option that people can, you know, have their juices in and then just return to the wash station. And for those glasses to remain in circulation, as opposed to using a single use, disposable that ends up in landfill. That's a cost benefit as well. So, with the glasses, you invest a little bit more upfront, but then over time it becomes more sustainable as well for the business.
Miranda: The initiative tackles a bit of everything, I think, and as a community that's really what we've got to do. It's a little step that are going to add up to create the bigger change. I think that goes across all the initiatives that we're trying to see coming into law, but also just into practice, good practice without it being imposed on us.
Amelia: This particular project is really about the community. It's about starting conversations, about trying to use what we have and look after what we have. And while we do divert, you know, quite a lot of plastic from being recycled or even going to landfill, really, it's about the conversations.
Julian: Personally, I think it's great to be conscious of one's environmental footprint. So and as a business owner, it's also important to consider how the operation can be better for the environment and the planet. So that's one of the main drivers behind going to reusables as well.
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