We're going to reimagine the grocery store. The whole dang thing.
You might be asking, "Wait, why?" The answer is simple, and it's one that all of us can see. The answer is in your garbage cans.
When we think of garbage, or pollution, or waste... where does that come from? I bet if you take a peek in your garbage can, you'll see that most of what's in there came from... the grocery store.
Think about it. The food we buy, the meals we cook, the snacks we munch on. The cleaning products we use on our home, our dishes, our clothes. The soaps and personal care items we use in our own hygiene.
We live in a system where virtually all of those items come packaged in plastic. Try to go do your weekly shopping without any plastic. Even if you try, it's virtually impossible. Our systems are stacked against it.
But plastic is a major problem. The average American generates 4.9 lb of trash every day. (And that's PRE-PANDEMIC!) That's 1,789 lbs per year... per person.
Of our plastic waste, we have recycled only about 9% of what we used. Mostly, plastics are not even designed to be recycled, but that's another discussion. Plastic degradation can take 10 - 1,000 years, and even the 9% of stuff that gets recycled can only be repurposed 1-2 times before it loses the desirable characteristics that made it so ubiquitous in the first place. Our landfills are filling up. Our recycling market isn't functioning. Our oceans and beaches (and streets, parks, and sidewalks) are being covered in junk. And don't even get me started on the endocrine-disrupting properties.
So... the system has to change. The good news is that this system CAN be changed. It just needs to be reimagined.
What does that look like?
- fresh, organic, local products
- soaps / shampoo / conditioner / toothpaste that is either package free, or minimal packaging that avoids plastics.
- refillable cleaning products
- Kitchen items & housewares meant for reuse
- dry goods in bulk bins
- liquids and oils in bulk bins
- dairy, condiments, and drinks in glass.
You see, currently it's possible to get plastic-free items, but there isn't a good retailer to aggregate them. Shopping for these items means lots of little transactions, and it's about the farthest thing from "one-stop shopping" imaginable.
To really make a difference, sustainable living must also be a sustainable habit for the customer. Parents don't have time to juggle work, kids, school, volunteering, running a household... and saving the planet at the same time. (Save that parent for a Disney script.) So Byrd's Filling Station is reimagining a one-stop grocery store to make it easy to choose zero-to-low waste products.
Come help us making this reimagined system a reality. Let's make choosing sustainability the easy option. Let consider the packaging as important as the product items.
What we'll find along the way isn't just a cleaner planet, it's also a more resilient supply chain. By buying local, we support our economy, our artisans, our farmers, and we ensure access to products with our reusable packages, bottles, and jars.