The Saturday market produces waste, whether it’s the corn husks from tamales, plastic cups from iced drinks or forks from one of our prepared food vendors. At Prescott Farmers Market, we take our role in fighting climate change seriously and make an effort to reduce the amount of waste the market produces.

What is sustainability? The most widely accepted definition came from the United Nations Brundtland Commission in 1987: “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The core of PFM’s mission is to support and expand local agriculture, which means doing our part to both mitigate and adapt to climate change. When our farmers and ranchers face devastating weather events, we all suffer.

We all have a role to play and the choices we make affect our greater community. Our goal at PFM is to make the market a sustainable event. Here are some of the actions we’re taking:

• Beginning in November of 2022, styrofoam will not be allowed at the market. Vendors will provide alternative containers for to-go foods.
• PFM provides reusable plates (made from wheat straw!) to prepared food vendors. Customers who are eating food at the market can use these plates and drop them off to be washed and sanitized by volunteers.
• Compost, recycling and landfill bins are located throughout the market to encourage vendors and customers to recycle and compost. We have dedicated volunteers who dig through all the leftover market trash and sort into compost, recycle and landfill, so that only actual trash goes to the dump. All compostable items break down along your food scraps in our Community Compost Project.

Here are some ways you can help:

With the help of dedicated staff, volunteers, vendors and customers, together we have made a strong start towards the market being a zero waste event.