June 24, 2010, Surrey, B.C. – A group of British Columbia’s garden centres have come together to participate in the inaugural National Plastic Recycling Week, from June 28 to July 5. Led by the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association and its member associations, including the BC Landscape & Nursery Association (BCLNA), the week is designed to offer the industry a way to manage the industry’s post-consumer plastic waste in an environmentally-friendly fashion, and to make the public aware of efforts the environmental horticulture industry is making to work toward greener solutions. Five garden centres in BC will act as depots where consumers can take their used plant pots and trays.
“The range of plastics with various recycling codes, and the fact that it is difficult to remove all the soil from plant pots means many municipalities with blue-bin programs cannot participate,” says BCLNA Executive Director, Lesley Tannen. “BCLNA and CNLA have been working to find better options for some time, and this is one activity that allows us to start discussing one aspect of a very large issue. We are also working on a pan-agricultural proposal to research options and opportunities for industry’s waste plastic pots, trays and tags, plus greenhouse and agricultural films including bale wrap.”
While a great deal of work has been done in other jurisdictions, and small programs have been initiated locally, Tannen adds that in 2010 BC seems to have limited options for managing this waste product. We hope to gather information from independent studies and pilot-projects, and to involve specialized recyclers like West Coast Plastic Recycling Inc., that are beginning to work with agriculture by offering free pick-up services of waste films and by sponsoring events like National Plastic Recycling Week in BC. The proposal requires letters of support from allied sectors, and partnerships to better guide and fund the research work; ag- and plastics industry leaders and recyclers who wish to comment are invited to contact Lesley Tannen:
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