Reusing old containers is as easier than you might think.
"A lot of people ask me, 'Do I have to bring in a nice jar? Do I have to bring in a glass jar?' But the answer is no," said Valerie Voorhees, founder of Mission Refill.
Any container will work. Just make sure it’s clean, then fill it up with any of the store's 50 items.
Shopper Amy Damron says refilling is easy once you get going.
"It becomes easy and part of kind of your routine, just like going to get groceries. Then it makes for a seamless transition into not using as much plastic," Damron said.
According to Voorhees, since November, the store has saved over 2,000 single-use plastics from landfills. These efforts strongly align with Goleta’s new Go Green initiative, which encourages the community to make small changes daily to help the environment.
"One of the goals we have for the city is to go 100% renewable energy by 2030, and all our municipal facilities," said Dana Murray, Sustainability Manager for the City of Goleta.
To achieve that goal, Goleta is focused on six areas of sustainability: less waste, water conservation, green spaces, plastic-free, and electric energy. In 2021, Goleta enrolled in Central Coast Community Energy, which provides clean energy access to homeowners and renters.
"You can opt for 100% renewable energy, meaning I'm powering my rental home with 100% wind and solar energy," Murray explained.
Additionally, Goleta just broke ground on 17 EV chargers at City Hall for use by anyone. The $250,000 project is being provided by the SCE's Charge Ready program, according to Murray.
