Community Market’s Green Team started in 2014 to turn sustainability goals into everyday action. The team joins local litter cleanups and Zero Waste events, monitors our store waste streams, and supports worker education about practical green practices.
We have toured local recycling centers, compost facilities, and wastewater plants to learn how small changes add up. We also host educational activities like clothing swaps, bike-friendly events, and film screenings.
Our goal is simple. Make it easier for all of us to choose low-waste options and protect Sonoma County’s environment.
Follow Green Team updates on Facebook!
A Greener Grocery Trip
At Community Market, we’re always looking for ways to walk our talk when it comes to environmental sustainability. One of the biggest ways we can make a difference together is by reducing single-use packaging.
Why This Matters
Every year, millions of paper bags are used once and then discarded. Even recycled paper bags take a surprising amount of resources – trees, water, and energy – to produce. By bringing your own reusable bags and containers, you help conserve those resources and reduce waste in our local landfills.
What’s Changing
Starting November 1st, paper bags will cost $0.25 each, and customers who bring reusable bags will receive a $0.25 credit per transaction. One credit per transaction. Cardboard boxes are not eligible for credit.
Cardboard boxes will continue to be free for reuse.
This small shift helps offset the significant cost of paper bags to our not-for-profit store and encourages sustainable habits that make a real impact over time.
How You Can Help
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Bring reusable cloth bags whenever you shop
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Reuse jars or containers for bulk foods, spices, coffee, and more
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Keep a few bags in your car so you’re always ready for your next visit
Each time you bring your own bag or container, you’re taking part in a community-wide effort to reduce waste and protect the environment we all depend on.
Our Commitment
This change is part of Community Market’s Green Initiative, guided by our Green Team and supported by workers across every department. It reflects our ongoing effort to make choices that are good for people, good for the planet, and good for our community.
Thank you for helping us stay true to our values and for being part of the change that keeps Sonoma County green.
Waste Sorting at Community Market
Proper waste sorting is one of the most effective ways to reduce our environmental footprint. Every item that ends up in the wrong bin adds to landfill and increases processing costs, so we are working to make sorting easy and clear for everyone.
Compost
Compostable materials include food scraps, paper napkins, uncoated paper takeout containers, and all wooden cutlery. The paper clamshell containers on our hot bar are also compostable.
Please note that World Centric cups and containers are not accepted as compostable by our waste management provider, even though they are labeled as such.
Recycling
Recyclables include clean paper, cardboard, glass bottles, metal cans, and hard plastics that can be rinsed and kept free of food residue.
World Centric products and coffee cups from the cafe cannot be recycled because they have a wax coating on the inside. Please dispose of those in the trash.
Trash
Trash bins are for items that cannot be composted or recycled, such as plastic film, chip bags, and coated paper products.
World Centric hot bar cups, cafe coffee cups, and any plastic that is smaller than a playing card or does not hold its shape should go in the trash.
Please empty all food from containers that are trash or recyclable into the compost bin before disposing of the container.
Together, we can keep valuable materials out of the waste stream and move closer to a Zero Waste future.
Solar Power and Energy Efficiency
In July 2010, Community Market installed 308 SolarWorld Sunmodule Plus SW245 solar panels, generating approximately 99,869 kWh of clean energy each year, which offsets nearly half of our total annual electricity use.
To further reduce our energy footprint, we completed an energy audit and continue to replace older, inefficient equipment with more sustainable alternatives.
This project was made possible through a partnership with WestCoast Solar Energy, a local Sonoma County solar installation company. With their help, we secured federal grant funding dedicated to renewable energy projects, covering 30% of the total installation cost and making the project possible.
EV Charging Station
At our Santa Rosa location, we offer a Level 2
Pow-R-Station EV charger for shoppers driving electric vehicles. Stop by, do your shopping, and charge your car while you’re here.
The charging station is available to Community Market shoppers and is operational during store hours, seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
