Surrey, BC—June 23, 2010—A group of British Columbia’s garden centres have come together to participate in the inaugural National Plastic Recycling Week, 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 gardeners an environmentally responsible way to dispose of their plastic plant pots, plant packs, and plastic trays.

Environmental horticulture companies have been working on alternatives to plastic pots for some years, and more and more garden centres are now able to offer vegetable and flower plants in a variety of biodegradable containers. For plants like perennials, shrubs and trees, that live longer in their nursery pots, growers and garden retailers are looking for and testing the durability of containers made from coconut husk, rice hull, paper-fibre, cow manure ‘paper’, and even chicken feathers. But until clear winners arise that will stand up to sun, rain, watering, machine and human handling, and shipping, plastics remain the most-used option.

“It’s the diversity of crops that makes plastic plant-pot recycling a bit of a challenge,” says BCLNA Executive Director, Lesley Tannen. “Pots made to hold trees for several years before they get transplanted into your garden are made from different plastics than those that only take a season or two. Different plants can have very different growing requirements, and the containers used in horticulture are designed to fit these needs.”

The multitude of plastics with various recycling codes, and the fact it is difficult to remove all the soil from plant pots means most municipal blue-bin programs do not include them.

Specialized companies like West Coast Plastic Recycling Inc. in Richmond are beginning to develop ways to manage horticultural plastics like pots and greenhouse film. The company has been helping the environmental horticulture industry manage plastic waste by offering pick-up services and by sponsoring events like National Plastic Recycling Week. Finding solutions with other sectors is just one way the green industry is working to become greener every day.

Gardeners can help by tapping excess soil off their used pots, stacking them by size, and dropping them off in the designated spot at one of the following participating locations during regular business hours:

• Art’s Nursery Ltd. – 8940-192nd Street, Surrey
• Cannor Nursery – 34261 Marshall Road, Abbotsford
• GardenWorks N. Burnaby – 6250 Lougheed Highway, Burnaby
• Minter Country Garden Store – 10015 Young Road North, Chilliwack
• Nico’s Nurseryland – 830-28th Street NE, Salmon Arm
• West Coast Plastic Recycling Inc. – Unit #3-2480 Shell Road, Richmond