New Zero Waste Store In Vienna Seeks To Change Shopper Habits

VIENNA, VA — At one of Vienna's newest businesses, customers won't pick up products as traditionally sold in single-use packaging. Instead, they come with their own containers to fill up items like dry foods, spices and soaps. This type of shopping is part of the growing zero waste movement seeking to promote a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. Now Vienna residents have this option with the opening of a zero waste store in the heart of town.

Trace the Zero Waste Store opened on Sept. 23 at 140 Church Street NW. This is only one of two zero waste stores to open in Northern Virginia. The other store, Mason & Greens, opened in Alexandria in 2020.

Vienna's new store seeks to be a one-stop location for essentials such as dry goods and personal care items to help reduce the amount of waste humans produce and its impact on the planet. Trace the Zero Waste Store sells items such as spices, dry foods, and personal care items such as soaps, laundry detergent and hand sanitizer. Because customers bring their own containers to fill up food, spices or other items, single-use packaging doesn't get factored into the price. Other items like utensils, cloths and more are things that can be reused and not thrown out after one use.

Owner Mala Persaud told Patch it's a "fulfilling commitment" to cut down on waste and plastic in particular.

"Everything is basically endlessly reusable so you shouldn't have to throw anything in the garbage for a very long time," said Persaud.

Cutting down on waste has been custom for Persaud for a long time. Her grandparents are originally from Guyana and were surprised to find items like paper towels being used once and thrown away in the U.S. Her grandparents were used to reusing items like paper towels multiple times until they fell apart.

Persaud herself also committed to a plastic-free lifestyle after seeing the ways plastic harmed the environment during her travels. Today, Persaud and her son only create about a half bag of waste per week of items that absolutely have to be thrown away.

A resident of Vienna for 15 years, Persaud had the idea to start a store for years. When running pop-up stands for several years, she kept hearing from people that a zero-waste store should be open in this area. Once the store opened, Persaud has been balancing the store with a full-time job, but she hired Nicole Hampton to be the day-to-day manager.

Hampton said she previously worked at Mason & Greens before coming to Trace the Zero Waste Store. She didn't know much about zero waste shopping before walking into Mason & Greens. But once she saw what it was about, she thought "this makes so much sense."

Hampton likes the Trace the Zero Waste Store in particular because it doesn't try to sell anything more than the essentials.

"I like that it's about what you need, and it has this minimalist feel to it," said Hampton.

Persaud sees zero waste shopping as something customers can fit into monthly shopping trips. While some items like reusable utensils are something customers would only need to buy once, food is something she knows people need to buy regularly. She also plans to look for other items that could be added to the store.

"It's going to be continuing to keep an eye on what industries are innovating," said Persaud.

Persaud says zero waste shopping is a commitment to make, but it pays off. She believes a motivating factor for people transitioning to zero-waste shopping is observing just how much trash people generate. She adds that people will also save money from reusing items.

"It's an adjustment but once you start with the habit, it's a good one, and you feel pretty good and that you can make a difference," said Persaud.

For example, she points to a product as small as dental floss as something that can make a difference for the planet. Persaud says the floss and plastic containers Americans could use in one year can fill six football fields. As an alternative, Trace the Zero Waste store sells glass spools of dental floss.

Sustainability is something that can translate into long-term savings for small businesses, too, Persaud says. She was able to get approval from the town on using more sustainable materials for the store sign. That means any future tenant of the store space will only have to replace letters but not the sign. In the future, she hopes the town will look at things like this that can be cost savings for small businesses.

Even the items in the store are part of the commitment to cut back on waste. In fact, wooden tables and displays in the store come from wood pallets that would have otherwise been thrown away or used as firewood.

Hampton has been hearing positive feedback from customers that a store like this was needed. For those who are still making the transition to the zero waste shopping, Persaud and Hampton stand ready to help out.

Hours for Trace the Zero Waste Store are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit www.tracezerowaste.com.