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Sustainable Monterey

Past Events

Plastics Pollution Booth

One of Sustainable Monterey’s key projects has been the creation and hosting of a plastic pollution booth.  Designed for, and debuted at, Whalefest in 2018 as ‘edu-tainment’ for all ages, the booth (1) describes the top ocean plastic polluters items that kill over 1 million marine animals annually, (2) dispels the myth of most items’ recyclability and (3) shows the huge disparity of time an an item is used (average 20 minutes) and it’s lifetime (hundreds of years, or really forever) in the environment. Most importantly, solutions of alternative products and practices are shown and at a few Whalefests, taught by grade school children and Surfrider hosted the booth in 2022.  If you would like to borrow this booth for a school event, festival or other ‘edu-tainment’ purposes, please contact Laurie Eavey.  

Farmers Markets Produce Bags

With the end of plastic bag recycling in 2018,, Sustainable Monterey partnered with Monterey Regional Waste Management District and fellow LAGs to offer affordable cloth bags at local farmers markets.   To make them affordable we purchased cloth bags in bulk and to make the ‘cool’ we invited students to color with artwork and messages. Over 2000 students across Monterey participated in decorating bags.  Their messages were heartfelt and moving and captured in this photo album https://photos.app.goo.gl/J8gf3HttbwiUAzCu8.  The bags double as  wrapping paper and reminds owners of why and for whom they are saving the planet when used.  

After the cloth bag decorating campaign, we realized that broadscale behavioral change in the move to cloth bags, requires that they be offered free.  So our next campaign, we enlisted Sotheby’s real estate office in Pacific Grove to sponsor the bags displaying realtors’ names in sizes respective to their sponsorship level.  On the bag’s other side, Emily Hess designed a tree image with NGO and other organization’s co-sponsors and farmer’s names participating in the market.  For one month, farmers proudly gave out these free reusable bags to their customers.