Getting to Greener Webinar

Farmers Markets are full of plastic bags, plastic utensils, clamshell packaging. At just one market in Fairfax County, shoppers use a conservative average of 100,000 single use plastic bags per season. There are over 25 Farmers Markets in the Northern Virginia Region every week. Several are year round and that is an unconscionable number of plastic bags considering the damage just one bag could do to a bale of cotton, or if ingested by livestock.

This session will showcase products and programs that Markets and Farmers can use instead of single use plastics and open the discussion up to creative ways Markets can market their sustainability and get even more customers (including eco-tourists!) who care about not just where the food comes from, but how they buy it.

About the Presenters

Jennifer Cole, Executive Director- Clean Fairfax

Jennifer Cole has been the Executive Director for Clean Fairfax since January 2009.
She served as the President of the Virginia Council on Litter Prevention and Recycling, a member of the Beekeepers Association of Northern Virginia, the Virginia Recycling Association, and serves on the County’s Trash Team, a task force made up of County agencies, regional authorities and non-profits working on keeping area streams and special places clean and litter-free. She is the 2018 recipient of the Fairfax County Environment Excellence Award. Before moving to Northern Virginia, Jen worked in Providence, Rhode Island developing and managing urban agriculture and community gardens, community forestry, and advocacy via environmental law.
She holds a Masters in Public Administration with an emphasis on Urban Environmental Policy from Norwich University and a Certification in Advanced Business Sustainability from the University of Vermont.

Zach Huntington, Clean Streams Program Manager- Clean Fairfax

Zach Huntington is a Virginia native and lifelong outdoorsman with a passion for clean water. He received his Bachelors of Science in Environmental Science with a concentration in Natural Resources and Conservation, and is currently pursuing an MBA with a concentration in Environmental Compliance and Sustainability.