By KATHRYN BEILKE
YOU’VE HEARD THE ADAGE that it only takes 21 days to start a new habit. While that may not be true for everyone, putting a new behavior into practice regularly can eventually ingrain in us an automatic reflex. Columbia County Reduces Waste wants to help residents get in a new habit: taking an empty thermos, tumbler or bottle along every time you leave the house. That’s because a number of Columbia County businesses have signed up to join their initiative, Columbia County Bring Your Own. Through BYO, at any participating establishment (find the BYO emblem sticker in their window) you can get your coffee, latte, juice or tea in your own cup, sometimes at a discount.
At a time when convenience is at a premium, consumers often forget the toll that disposables take on the environment, or where they end up. “We need to retrain ourselves from believing that plastic is recyclable. Every single piece of plastic that has ever been produced is still on this planet and only 5% ever gets recycled,” says Jill Berman who initiated the BYO campaign. Plastic cups, lids, and straws often end up in waterways breaking down into microplastics contaminating marine life and even getting into our food supply. “Paper disposables and so-called ‘compostables,’ while better, rely on avoidable resource extraction to produce and still sometimes require special facilities to break down,” Berman went on to say.
Fortunately, Columbia County business owners and neighbors are partnering together to provide an alternative. The local movement is gaining traction as Columbia County Reduces Waste-BYO is now part of the newly formed US Reduces network (https://usreduces.org/) and can be found on their national map. Verdigris Tea, Wylde Hudson, Nolita Supernatural Coffee and the Hudson Roastery – all in Hudson – are the newest establishments to join the effort to support residents bringing their own containers.
The opportunity is not limited to just beverages. Containers for bulk items are accepted at the Chatham Real Food Market Co-Op and Hawthorne Valley Farm Store. Make sure to have them weighed before filling to establish the tare of your container.
Lucy O’Leary, co-manager of the Chatham Co-op, explained further that the plastic take-out containers that are used for their prepared foods can be brought back and are reused, after being sanitized, by nonprofits in Columbia County that provide meals to food challenged residents.
The Spencertown Academy has also become part of the BYO effort. They will encourage their members to BYO their own beverage containers and fill them from the water jugs they are providing, available after their recent Festival of Books. They are exploring additional ways to reduce waste resulting from the use of single-use disposals at their events.
Also in Chatham, members of the PS21 board as well as Kelly Mackerer, PS 21’s director of operations, have joined the BYO initiative to reduce plastic waste that results from the use of single-use disposables (e.g., plastic cups, utensils, etc.) by switching to reusable glasses and other food serviceware. They are also exploring the possibility of retrofitting two water fountains so that folks can use those fountains to fill their BYO water bottles when attending events and/or picnicking on their extensive grounds.
Tambra Dillon, executive director of Hudson Hall, is making efforts to minimize plastic and single use wherever possible. HH has water fountains, Brita water pitchers, and a water cooler for common use so folks can BYO their beverage containers to fill.
Columbia County BYO believes new habit-forming is really the only answer to waste.Not only can you bring your own refillables to local establishments already involved in the BYO effort, Columbia County BYO also invites you to strike up conversations with those not yet participating. Bring your bottle to your favorite business and ask. “We need to get the word out and change our culture more broadly. As with anything, we can start local” says Berman.
Anyone interested in participating, volunteering to recruit new businesses, or help BYO establish a web and social media presence can contact Berman at berman.jill@gmail.com.
All Cafes that have joined the BYO campaign will be listed on the new EcoRate app (https://ecorate.eco) which enables users to find Eco-Friendly Cafes and refill stores and their map.
