KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A zero-waste refill shop in Kansas City, Missouri, is doing its part to better protect the environment.
Gabriella Sanders, owner of Green Utopia KC, believes the road to sustainability starts with personal awareness.
“Hopefully they’re gonna leave with something — just one piece of new knowledge about what they can do at home, in their own home and with their own family,” Sanders said. “Can you take your utensils with you? Can you take your own straws with you? What can you do for yourself every day to make the Earth better?”
She says understanding habits can lead to creating better ones. Thus, Green Utopia KC was created to fill a gap in need.
From jewelry to home decor and toys, everything sold in Sanders' shop is made with the environment in mind.
Another initiative customers can support is composting. Green Utopia provides buckets to discard food waste. Once the bucket is full, customers can return it to the shop where it will then be sent to a farm in Raytown.
Regular customer Meghan Flanigan says composting was an easy gateway to a lifestyle change.
“Sometimes I get lulled into complacency in that same way, but simple fact is, this planet is going to burn if we don’t do anything — and I have two children that want children, who I presume, will want children,” Flanigan said. “If we don’t do something yesterday, it’s just not gonna be here for us.”
Meanwhile, at nonprofit Scraps KC, founder and executive director Brenda Mott says they have opened a new educational center in time for Earth Week.
Kids and parents can learn about sustainability through various activities that teach the impact of reducing, reusing and repurposing.
“We have classes where people can learn about our plastics recycling and can actually make a bowl to take home, and then we also have a lot of felting classes where people learn how to use the machine and create different material out of it,” Mott said.
To learn more about Scraps KC, click HERE.
