Brooklyn Flea Goes Green

The Brooklyn Flea, in all its various formats, generated more than 50 tons of solid waste in 2011; that’s what happens when you’ve got so many popular food vendors. As a result, we started looking for ways to reduce our landfill waste this season. Luckily there was already a successful model in place: San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Following the Farmers Market’s lead, The Flea transitioned last weekend to a system that requires all food vendors to use 100% recyclable or compostable serving items (plates, cups, forks, etc.), and to composting all relevant food waste. Full compliance will always be a challenge and we’re continuing to tweak the ways in which we communicate the sorting process on-site, but everyone on the Flea team is excited about the initiative.