Eating local and "going green" go hand in hand, and in Center City there is no better place for organic and locally farmed eats than Reading Terminal Market.
I rarely go to a major grocery store, but I found myself at Super Fresh about a week ago. When I asked the cashier for a paper bag, you would think that I had just cursed out his mother. Then he proceeds to put a paper bag inside a plastic one. What?!
"This is why I go to Reading Terminal," I thought. Until I went back to Reading Terminal and noticed the exact same thing. For a farmers market catering to the city's greenest, the place is environmentally clueless.
Employees at Iovine's Produce spend their free time stuffing paper bags into plastic ones. Again, what?! Tootsie's Salad Bar briefly offered recycled paper containers, but switched back to plastic, and predominantly styrofoam. At least they ask if you want a bag. At Delilah's you'll walk away with a styrofoam container and a plastic bag whether you want one or not. Want to sample some ice cream? Here's a plastic spoon, the existence of which will see less than a minute of action.
The market does offer recycling cans which is more than most of the city can say, but what's the point? Plastic bags aren't recycled and styrofoam can't be. That's also making the big assumption that the recyclables don't end up in the same dumpster as the trash.
Considering the clientele, a little effort would pay off. The sad truth is that Philadelphia is a black hole when it comes to the environment. If people can't get trash in the trash cans, they've probably never even heard of recycling.
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