Precycle is a zero waste store located in Brooklyn, NY, in the northern neighborhood of Bushwick. They sell package-free in season produce, bulk food, and home goods with the main goal of reducing food and packaging waste.
Owner Katerina Bogatireva grew up in Riga, Latvia in the era of the Soviet Union. She has seen first hand the empty store shelves. Values of not wasting food and getting the most use of resources were instilled in her from an early age. As a young adult, Katerina arrived in NYC in the early 21st Century. Quickly, the abundance and accessibility to food and other “necessities” started to become a norm and were taken for granted. There was a turning point in Katerina’s life when she began to realize the outputs that are created by simple everyday choices. Little by little she started to replace disposable with reusable and challenged herself with finding solutions to avoid as much waste as possible. One day, her son came home from school and asked a question “mommy, do you know how long the plastic will remain in the landfill?” And so, in April of 2015 the idea of Precycle began to take shape.
Since the 1960s, plastic production has increased greatly, evolving into a $600 billion global industry. Around eight million metric tons of plastics enter the oceans annually, and conservative estimates suggest 5.25 trillion plastic particles currently circulate in ocean surface waters. This is not a problem that we can kick down the road, as studies show that micro-plastics already appear in a large number of species that will eventually end up on our plates.
We at Regional Access have strongly encouraged customers to switch to bulk in order to limit single use packaging, to buy precisely what you need to limit food waste, and hopefully pass off some savings to the consumer in the process. Precycle is a leading example of this, offering compostable paper bags for dry goods, glass jars for liquids, and making sure to limit packaging throughout the whole supply chain. We are thrilled with our partnership with Precycle and like minded mission of reducing waste.
Due to Covid-19 safety measures they are currently open for curbside pickup and delivery only. Orders can be placed online from 10:00AM – 6:30PM, and picked up from 10:30AM – 7:00PM. Just choose your preferred pickup or delivery time, order your package-less goods, and pay. In order to limit lines outside, you will receive an email when your order is being processed at the store, and a more precise time will be given for your pickup.
Head here to begin your order, and start down the path to a less wasteful and more environmentally responsible way to shop!
