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, June 28 to July 5.
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, June 28 to July 5.
Led by the Canadian Nursery
Landscape Association and its member associations, including the B.C. 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 the province 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, B.C. 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 pickup services of waste films, and by sponsoring events like
National Plastic Recycling Week in B.C.”
The proposal requires
letters of support from allied sectors, and partnerships to better guide and
fund the research work. Agriculture and plastics industry leaders and recyclers
who wish to comment are invited to contact Tannen at ltannen@bclna.com.
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