‘Choose to Reuse’ with Resilient Palisades

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

Locally founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades is launching a new initiative to encourage Palisadians to reject single-use shopping and produce bags, and replace them with reusable bags. The Zero Waste Team is spearheading a Choose to Reuse campaign, and introducing the Reusable Produce Bag Surprise.

For six consecutive weeks, Resilient Palisades will be seeking out shoppers at the Pacific Palisades Farmers Market, and surprising those who are using reusable produce bags with a gift card to a local business—including Kayndaves, CinqueTerre WEST, Frecker Farms, Refillery LA and Besties Vegan Paradise in Venice.

Resilient Palisades Zero Waste Co-lead Bonnie Zucker said she has been going to the farmers market for years and had the idea to launch this initiative after realizing how much plastic waste is produced.

“It really just struck me that there’s so much waste, in terms of plastic bags, especially with the produce bags,” Zucker said to the Palisadian-Post. “I was trying to think about how we can incentivize people to bring their own produce bags … What if we had a secret shopper type of thing, something like a little game. And we can surprise people who are using their own bags, specifically their own produce bags.”

The six-week event will kick-off on Sunday, February 27, at Resilient Palisades’ pop-up at the farmers market.

“Bringing your own bags to the market … helps the environment in so many different ways,” Zucker said.

The Zero Waste team has also instituted a plastic bag pledge that Palisadians can sign at the team’s pop-up. The pledge asks that individuals do their best to not use single-use bags at the farmers market and grocery stores. Those who sign the pledge will receive a free reusable cloth produce bag.

“People have generally been good about bringing their own tote bags to the markets but still tend to use single-use plastic bags for their produce,” Zucker shared in an email. “Our goal is to help change the culture around bag-use at the market and grocery stores … We hope to generate a lot of enthusiasm for this initiative.”

The Zero Waste team is working towards the goal of a “Zero Waste Pacific Palisades,” according to its website. In addition to its Choose to Reuse campaign, the team has a Commit to Compost campaign and is working on strategies for composting food scraps as individuals and as a community.

For more information, visit resilientpalisades.org/zero-waste-team. To get involved, Zucker can be reached at bonniez90@gmail.com.