Beth Casper’s public resignation email to the Salem Saturday Market board
Subject: Future of the Zero Waste Zone at the Salem Saturday Market
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2012 09:42:17
To Salem Saturday Market Board:
I was disappointed to receive your letter explaining that you would not be financially supporting the Zero
Waste Zone project at the market anymore this season. Without updating the current signage this year,
the program will continue to decline: the public will be frustrated with not knowing where to throw their
waste and the vendors will be frustrated with the fact that they are purchasing materials that are not being
composted. New signs now are essential to the success of this program.
Zero Waste Zones are quickly becoming standard at all kinds of events as people realize the true costs of
continuing to trash items that are easily composted or recycled. Hundreds of farmers markets across the
country have implemented Zero Waste Zones because they understand that market-goers are exactly the
kind of customers who want to support sustainable programs since they are already supporting
sustainable agriculture, local businesses and the local economy.
These Zero Waste Zones at farmers markets are functioning well with clear, easy-to-read signage—such
as the newly designed signs I just worked on with a volunteer. It is a false premise to assume that you
need volunteers to staff these stations full time. In addition, full-time staffing of 3 Zero Waste stations
every Saturday for the 30+ weeks of the market is not possible (as evidenced by the hundreds of hours I
spent last year to staff the booths and still was unable to fill them consistently every week). It is not a
sustainable way to educate the public or keep the bins from being contaminated.
I recognize that our first signs were too wordy and did not have enough photos. That was a result of a
program that was too complicated, i.e. some cups were compostable, others were recyclable. You
remedied that this year by requiring food vendors to use all compostable items.
But your signage does not tell the public where items belong. Signs that simply say “Compost” “Garbage”
“Recycle” are neither specific nor educational enough to be of any help to the public. Your other attempt
of posting corresponding items to each of the signs is an idea that the Friends group tried in the past and
didn’t work. I communicated that to you in a board meeting.
The newly designed signs are very simple and easy to follow.
But instead of either spending the market’s money or allowing me to find a sponsor to buy the signs for
you, you’ve ensured the project’s failure.
I offered to find sponsors for the Zero Waste Zone. But instead you negotiated a contract with MAPS
Credit Union that did not even come close to covering the cost of the program or even new signs, and
then you asked me to design signs before going back to MAPS to negotiate for more money. I worked
with a graphic designer whovolunteered her time to get those signs complete. Now the signs are
designed and you still don’t want to go back to MAPS Credit Union to discuss another contract or, at the
very least, a contract for next year. I believe MAPS Credit Union would be willing to be a sponsor again—
at a higher dollar amount—particularly if there was adequate signage around the market to explain the
Zero Waste Zone program. Or, another sponsor could be brought in to cover signage, supplies and even
part of the garbage bills. I would not be surprised if you could find one or two sponsors specifically for the
Zero Waste Zone that were willing to pay several thousand dollars a year.
But I do not believe that you are looking for solutions to make this program successful. It seems to me
that you are looking for excuses to show that this program failed, as evidenced by:
· At the beginning of the season, food vendors were not called to ensure that they knew the Zero
Waste Zone rules and instead the market manager and staff had to do the enforcement at the market.