After hearing a haunting story from a Ranch Foods Direct customer who had been out on a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean – nothing but water for miles – and suddenly saw a plastic bag floating nearby, RFD sales associates Ashley Hutton and Josh Crusch were determined to take action and reduce any unnecessary use of plastic in the store. Ranch Foods Direct grocery bags are 100% biodegradable, but Ashley says they wanted to do more. To that end, they are urging customers to use glass jars when buying bulk beans and grains. Bring the jars back for your next purchase and pay only for the weight of the items you purchase. “I really, really want people to get on-board with doing this,” Ashley says. Jars are provided in-store, or you can bring your own.
Discarded plastic bags don’t only catch in trees and clog up roadside ditches, huge clumps of plastic have been found floating in the world’s oceans, where they threaten a wide range of sea life. By one estimate, Americans currently discard 100 billion plastic bags every year.
“Zero waste retailing” refers to sales venues that promote reusable containers such as cloth bags, jars or baskets and limiting ingredient purchases only to the quantity needed in order to reduce food waste. Thanks, Ashley and Josh, for spreading the word about this important trend!
