The 2nd Annual Earth Day Zero Waste Fair
The Sierra Club Angeles Chapter and Central Group hosted the 2nd annual Earth Day Zero Waste Fair on April 13th at Grand Park in Downtown Los Angeles.
The family-friendly event featured a wide range of environmental groups and diverse interests that included 5 Gyres (plastic pollution education), Climate Reality (climate change), Swap Society (clothes swap), Hearts on Arts (clothes upcycling), Imperfect Produce (“ugly” produce delivery), Epic Renewal (urban composting), and fellow activist organization, Greenpeace. 1 Plastic Life, a new non-profit organization focusing on reducing plastic pollution in low income communities, partnered with Precious Plastic LA and were providing plastic recycling demonstrations using their open-sourced recycling machine. Attendees enjoyed being able to refill their own jars and bottles with household and personal care products such as baking soda, soap, and shampoo, at one of the three refill providers: The Refillery, Sustain LA, and Recontained. The Zero Waste Doctor, aka Miles Lewis, a personal favorite of Central Group Chair, Barbara Hensleigh, returned this year to give helpful tips and advice on how to incorporate zero waste principles into daily life. He was joined by the lovely folks from the community based, Zero Waste LA group. At the Sierra Club booth, guests were encouraged to fill out a postcard (made from recycled paper) stating an action they would take in the next 30 days to reduce their carbon footprint. For making the pledge, guests received a choice of a donated glass jars, bamboo toothbrush, bamboo straw, or Sierra Club branded tote bag or branded Klean Kanteen cup. Kids visiting the booth had fun “fishing” in a tub filled with brightly colored cardboard fish surrounded by water bottles, bags, and other plastic trash. In exchange for a catch, they were rewarded with a bamboo straw!
While the fair itself was focused on zero waste and all organizations were asked not to distribute any handout or tchotchkes, additional care was taken to ensure that other elements of the event were also environmentally-friendly. The Sycons, a DJ duo who use everything from laptops, turntables, and portable PA systems powered by their portable solar panels, provided dance-worthy music that kept the energy high all day. Feel Good Salsa served delicious vegan Mexican food and used compostable food ware, which was then collected by one the invited organizations, Epic Renewal, at the end of the event.
With the ever-growing plastic pollution problem, this was a great opportunity to raise awareness of the issue, educate guests on how they can make sustainable choices for immediate impact in their own lives, and introduce the work of the Sierra Club as well as other organizations and vendors that are active in mitigating the effects of plastic waste and other environmental issues.
Photos by: Raj Patel
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