Enviro-Shoppers : Rewards Come for Those Who Change Their Polluting Ways

They are said to lurk in the aisles of supermarkets, their carts untainted by packaged foods, disposable diapers or the heinous plastic bag.

These elusive creatures--dubbed “Enviro-Shoppers”--stood to make a quick $5 apiece from the Santa Clarita Civic Assn., which bestowed them with the nickname and wanted to reward them Wednesday in honor of the upcoming Earth Day on April 22.

The problem was these paragons were virtually impossible to find, despite a thorough search among shelves bulging with disposable razors and plastic foam cups in four Canyon Country supermarkets.

“This is tough, really tough,” said Maureen Focht, an association volunteer who spent two hours diligently combing the air-conditioned aisles. “I thought this would be easy.”

Frustrated after the first half hour, Focht lowered the reward standards.

“Do you recycle?” she asked a Canyon Country couple wheeling an infant in a cart containing disposable diapers.

“Yes, we started recycling newspapers and magazines, glass and cans six months ago because our friends were yelling at us about it,” said Bob, a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department who declined to give his last name.

“You’ve just won $5,” Focht said.

“Aren’t you glad you came with me to the grocery store, Bob?” his wife, Sheri, teased.

Asked halfway through her search if she personally uses canvas bags, biodegradable cleansers and cloth diapers, Focht admitted that she herself falls far short of the lofty status of an “Enviro-Shopper.”

“I’d have to say I still use the old products most of the time,” she said.

But that didn’t deter her from driving up and down Soledad Canyon Road in search of those who have seen the light and changed their polluting ways.

After about a minute, Focht spotted a white-haired woman with a canvas bag in her cart and eagerly thrust the money at her.

“I just don’t like plastic,” said Alice Alvord, 80, explaining why she switched to canvas. “This is much handier to carry on the bus from Friendly Valley.”

“Finding her was a coup,” Focht said as Alvord hurried away to catch the bus home.

In the end, Focht rewarded three more shoppers for using canvas bags, five for saying they recycle, and one for buying fresh fruits and vegetables rather than packaged items.

Another volunteer was scheduled to visit markets in Valencia and Newhall on Wednesday evening.

The $100 in reward money was donated by Valencia resident Kathleen G. Ungar, a self-described “environmental and animal protectionist.”

Although no one person was a model shopper according to the association’s original standards, perhaps Barbara Henderson of Agua Dulce came closest. Henderson, a 41-year-old housewife, had six canvas bags filled with groceries in her cart.

“I don’t like plastic because it slides all over the back seat,” Henderson said. “I bought them one week at a time because they finally dropped the price on the darn things.”

But Focht declared herself satisfied by the day’s hunt.

“I think the people we awarded will tell their friends and relatives, and we’ll have some really environmentally aware shoppers to reward in six months when we do this again,” she said.