Recycling isn’t the solution to saving the environment.
That’s why Erin Rehm created a way to shop without creating any waste. Harmony Zero Waste Market is a zero-waste, package-free stand which sells at farmers’ markets around Tampa, St. Petersburg and Orlando.
First opened in October 2018, the market’s goal is to help consumers reduce the amount of waste they produce— from the way they shop for food to the way they live their lives.
Rhem, 24, wants to educate people on the importance of reducing waste and show them that living a zero-waste lifestyle can be easy.
“Recycling isn’t the answer to all these environmental issues,” Rehm said. “You can recycle all you want but it’s still going to be a problem.”
At Harmony Zero Waste Market, everything is sold in bulk and is package-free. Customers can bring their own container or use one of the market’s on deposit, and have it fully refunded once returned, no matter how long you’ve had it.
“I want to make zero-waste shopping mainstream and something everyone can do, and it’s easy to do,” said Rehm.
All the products she sells are organically grown and made with natural ingredients. There is complete food transparency, meaning that customers will know exactly where the food or product came from, how it was shipped, what materials were used and how many miles it traveled. No food is ever wasted and “ugly” produce is sold at a discounted price.
The food and products sold at the market are sourced as locally as possible and bought directly from the people who produce them. She only purchases from growers who use sustainable, organic farming methods.
In addition to food, other products that support a zero-waste, healthy lifestyle are also sold.
The idea to create a completely waste-free way to shop came to Rehm while she was studying at the University of Massachusetts. While taking classes in biology and environmentalism, she learned how much waste we produce daily.
“Just because you recycle a product doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no waste involved in that product,” Rehm said. “Everything that you use requires some form of energy and produces some form of waste.”
Rehm encourages people to take one trip to the grocery store and look at how much waste is consumed in one trip.
“Once you open your eyes to the amount of waste you’re producing, it can be overwhelming,” Rehm said. “But starting [to reduce waste] is better than not starting. Even if you can only take one thing and eliminate that one thing that’s better than not doing anything.”
Rehm’s goal is to open a full-sized grocery store that is 100% waste and emissions free. It will be the first of its kind in the United States.
Using funds from the market, she plans to open the store in Central Florida in about a year.
Nothing from the store will ever hit the landfill and the store’s electricity will come from rooftop solar energy. It will offer sustainable alternatives to the disposable items consumers use every day, like cleaning supplies and toilet paper.
With more than just dried goods, the store will offer frozen foods, produce, ready-to-eat items, cooked beans, sauces, soups, vegan meats and more.
Like the market, the grocery store will use Rehm’s reusable container deposit system or customers can bring their own containers. There will be no single-use plastic, no paper receipts and nothing sent to the landfill.
Eventually, Rehm hopes her project will evolve into a chain of grocery stores, spreading the no-waste lifestyle even farther.
Her broader goal is education, and encouraging people to be kind to the earth in every way they can.
“Every action has an outcome. Even if you’re using a plastic bottle and you always recycle that plastic bottle, plastic can’t be recycled endlessly,” she said. “It can be recycled once, maybe twice and then it can’t be used anymore. You’re stuck with this plastic that will never biodegrade into the environment.”
The driving forces behind the creation of Harmony Zero Waste Market and the future grocery store are the issues surrounding pollution, waste and agriculture. This is what will continue to drive the business as it strives for a sustainable future.
Real change will come from innovation, Rehm said, and there’s no time to waste.
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