Carlsbad Village goes green




Remember when the chore of bringing reusable bags into the grocery store was almost unbearable? How many times did we get to the front doors only to realize that we had to turn around and go back to our car for our bags? Now, however, it is an ingrained reaction to grab our reusable bags from the back seat before walking inside, and maybe even pick out a favorite or two.

We no longer forget; it has become a habit. The Carlsbad Village Association (CVA) continues to build its sustainability muscle memory downtown in everything it does. From meetings to events and working with the State Street Farmers Market vendors and businesses to make the transition from single-use plastics a reality, we are committed to this process.



After the first Taste of Carlsbad Village in 2017, it became obvious to us that we needed to be more environmentally friendly. We implemented changes for our future events, even before it was a requirement, and swapped out thousands of plastic glasses and forks for single-use stainless steel keepsake glasses and sporks. We also provided every restaurant with compostable serveware, to replace any plastic ware, and worked with the city’s sustainability contractor ReEarth Consultants, to capture compost waste and take it to the closest facility at the time in Los Angeles. Since then, having high environmental ethics has been a cornerstone of the Carlsbad Village Association.

In January of 2024, CVA entered a Pilot Program with the City’s Sustainability Management Materials Division to bring its 65 vendors at the State Street Farmers Market into compliance with the state’s Single Use Plastics Ban and SB1383 regulations regarding organic waste collection and disposal. What started as a rigorous education period with many questions has turned into a habit as well. Farmers market vendors now use either paper bags or reusable bags in lieu of single-use plastic bags.



Many have upgraded their packaging to be more environmentally friendly and compliant. Some farmers and artisan vendors are now using BPI-certified compostable bags for their produce that CVA supplies to them through a cooperative program with Los Angeles-based BioBagUSA. CVA purchases cases of approved products and warehouses them and then sells them back to the market vendors at cost to help them remain in compliance.

And, of course, with the focus on reusable bags, CVA has handed out over 10,000 tote bags at the farmers market through the years, to be good stewards of the community. Sourcing BPI-certified compostable serve ware continues to pose a challenge for our vendors who serve hot food to go at the market. It is our hope that as the single-use plastics ban becomes more widespread, cost-effective and locally sourced products will be available to our vendors to further help with this mandate. What once was a chore is now becoming a habit. The Carlsbad Village Association is proud to be doing its part daily in downtown Carlsbad.