Mala Persaud & Trace - The Zero Waste Store

The Pod of DC

Mala Persaud is an environmental advocate, sustainability commission member in the Town of Vienna, Virginia and owner of Trace - The Zero Waste Store, the first zero waste store in Fairfax County, the most populous county in the state of Virginia. As the daughter of South American immigrants, Mala learned early in life to appreciate the gifts of the Earth and to push herself outside of her comfort zone personally and professionally to now help move wide scale behavior change in the reduction of plastic production and waste. On this episode of the pod, Mala shares her journey into practicing waste reduction from a career in television and ghost writing, tips on adopting a sustainable practice mindset, how confusing messaging has hindered our collective understanding of proper recycling methods, popular items available for purchase at Trace and the need to also serve as a drop off point for difficult to recycle items, and the very real impact investing in sustainable practices makes on our businesses, communities, and environment.