Swapping recyclables for produce in Mexico City(2)

The initiative was an instant success. More than 20,000 people have visited the market, exchanging over 70 tons of waste materials for 41 tons of fruit, vegetables, dairy products and plants, according to the SMA.

Jorge Godoy, who has been selling his produce at the market since it opened, sold his entire stock of pigweed, lettuce, potatoes and parsley , over 100 kilos,  on Sunday Aug. 5.

“Sales were good today; this income is a big help,” said the 27-year-old farmer, who works a one-hectare plot of land outside of the town of San Gregorio Atlapulco, in Xochimilco.

Preparations begin the day before, as the goods are trucked to the market. At 6 a.m. the first Sunday of each month, the farmers begin to set up their stands in the 686-hectare Bosque de Chapultepec, the largest city park in Latin America, whose name means “hill of the crickets” in the Nahuatl tongue.

The market opens at 8 a.m. and continues to do business until all the produce is sold.

Since the very first edition, long lines of people have formed in the barter market, waiting to swap their recyclable waste for fresh produce. Work goes on at a frenzied pace, at both the recycling tables and the vegetable stands.

At the entrance, visitors are greeted by a large sign that says “Don’t throw away what still has value; swap it instead”.

In the areas where the separated recyclable trash is placed, another group of people fill up the trucks that take the materials to the processing plant.

Lourdes García got up early to bring in her load of glass and plastic. “This is the first time I have come. I heard of the market when it opened, and I started to collect my trash, and now I decided to come,” said the 60-year-old retired nurse.

Garcia said she was going to use her points to buy ornamental plants.

But the project is now facing a challenge: how to expand its operations. “We’ve reached our limit; the next step would be to make it a ‘travelling’ market, or replicate it in other areas,”  said Izquierdo.

There are more than 20 “travelling” organic produce markets in Mexico, which are becoming more and more common.

The participating farmers and the SMA are negotiating to create the ‘Tarjeta Proverde’, a green card that would entitle them to discounts on purchases of farm machinery or parts.

Another alternative is based on the possibility that the city government may certify organic producers for using environmentally-friendly techniques.

Becerril wants to return to the market. “It’s a good idea, because it generates benefits for both consumers and producers,” he said.