Volunteers Wanted: BYOBag Ossining Farmers Market

Riverkeeper, Down to Earth Markets, Green Ossining and ECOBAGS® are teaming up for a pilot program to encourage reusable bags and sustainable shopping habits at the Ossining Farmers Market. On Saturday, September 27th the market will phase out plastic bags, helping to drive the change to a more sustainable market.

We need your help educating customers at the Ossining Farmers Market about the impact of plastic bags on our water and wildlife. Sign up to volunteer at an upcoming Ossining Farmers Market and help us get folks to trade in their plastic bags for free reusable! (Sign up here to help).

The BYOBag Coalition estimates shoppers at the Ossining Farmers Market use approximately 60,000 bags each year! This number is staggering when you consider a few facts about how plastics impact human heath, water quality and wildlife.

Consider:

•A single plastic bag can take up to 1,000 years to degrade, if ever.
•Every square mile of ocean has about 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in it.
•Fish, birds, turtles and other wildlife can mistake small plastic pieces for food and the ingestion can lead to intestinal blockages causing injury or death.

Your help is needed on Saturday mornings leading up to and on the September 27th launch. Volunteers can sign up for 3 hour shifts helping talk to customers about the impacts of plastic bags and sustainable shopping habits. Once signed up for a shift a Riverkeeper Representative will reach out for a conversation about your upcoming volunteer day.

This is a great opportunity for high schoolers and adults alike! Please reach out to Riverkeeper Ambassador Emma Lagle at [email protected] with any questions.