Intervention at People’s Co-Op Meeting

During a People’s Co-Op board of directors meeting in November, minutes show that the co-op faced an "intervention — in the form of a motion made by members" to face the co-op's reliance on plastic.

People’s general manager Nancy Casady announced two new steps the store will take to address their plastics dependence. Beginning in January 2011, the co-op will be charging customers 15 cents per plastic bag used in the produce department. Also beginning in January 2011, People's will no longer stock single-serve plastic bottles of water.

Casady reiterated in her “General Manager's Message” to co-op members that "though plastics have made it possible to have cheap consumer goods, it turns out that we've traded the ecosystems of the oceans" and the purity of our immediate environment in order to sustain a lifestyle. Casady likened these new changes to "making the switch from white bread to whole grain."