Do you guys have an association?
I wrote a post about what to do with the empty nursery pots here. I just got a comment from faboomama. She asks “It would be nice if there was a comprehensive statewide effort to reduce the waste of these pots, but barring that, I’m looking for anyone who can take my pots and recycle them. I’m actually really surprised that there is no concerted effort among nursery owners (do you guys have an association?) where you can direct gardeners to dump them.
Well faboomama, we do have a California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers (CANGC). This was at one time a powerful and influential organization. What has happened to them? I joined when we started our business here four years ago. I soon dropped out because I sensed it was an organization that seemed to have lost it’s way. I tried to e-mail them a couple of times concerning a number of issues and never heard back.
I have come to the conclusion that it’s up to each independent to do what needs to be done. Counting on associations to help, at least here in California is a uphill climb. Am I missing something, or can someone tell me what the C.A.N.G.C.’s position is on recycling plant containers?
Hi Trey,
At our commercial growing facilities we have found it is just cheaper to purchase new pots rather than try to mess with recycling in quantity, but at our retail locations we make a big deal about recycling. A good portion of customers actually return the empty pots after they finish planting. We then put them in a large bin and allow other customers to come and take as they please for their own use. The bin is usually about half full and the give and take seems to equil out. I’ve tried putting plastic pots in the recycling bin at home and for so reason they never take them. Go figure. It reminds me of a comedian I heard telling a story about his difficulty trying to recycle a plastic garbage can.
Rees Cowden
No Brown Thumbs
We do re-use pots, but it does come down to the issue of time. It’s something that we’re always running short on and washing used pots does take time. Like Rees, it often is more feasible to just use new.
That said, we buy a lot of plants from Walter’s Gardens and they are making a serious effort to be more green. Check out the new Elle plug system they just switched to.
We are also looking for ways to recycle the nursery containers that our customers want to return to us. We have a couple of growers who do re-use the pots, so we collect them and give the pots back to them. Unfortunately we don’t have a wide spread program like the one in Minnesota. All of this is why we are very excited to see how the newer biodegradeable pots develope and whether more growers will be switching over to them.
Our Nursery Association is doing a good job here in New Jersey. (NJNLA) They have a great program for recycled greenhouse film, See this link: http://www.state.nj.us/agriculture/news/press/2008/approved/press080220.htmland And as for pots, there are people working on this, supposedly, in the group. There are so many hurdles–we all use different plastics for one–but hopefully the solutions some people have found will become more widespread. I collect some of the pots and give them to a local grower, and to any customer that needs them. We’re very small though–it’s got to be a nightmare with a big place. Keep an eye on http://www.greenbeam.com —I keep looking to see if someone has solved our problem! It seems dealing with a local recycler is the place to start. I haven’t had much luck yet though.
Unfortunately, the C.A.N. has gone the way off most organizations; an “old boys” club focused on networking and providing”deals for the boys” and socializing, rather than doing any major work within the trade…..
I would kill for biodegradable pots. I’m envisioning a world were instead of fighting rootbound plants in 5 gal. pots, I just drop the whole shebang in the ground. Thanks for the tips on the growers. Despite having a million growers nearby, it never dawned on me to approach them. Meanwhile, as a consumer, I’m still trying to find useful things to do with the pots I have.
Actually Faboo, there is a biodegradable pot on the market. It is now being used by some growers. It is manufactured from rice hulls… biodegrades over time…..like most things in the horticulture indusrty, change is slow~
I was on the state board of CANGC for over ten years. It seems to me that every board meeting we had a report from a committee on recycling nursery containers. They were working hard on pilot programs and industry standards. If you contact Farrand Enterprises or Hap Kellogg you could get more information.
State CANGC does an excellent job on legislative and pest exclusion issues and CCNPro. The scholarship funds are strong. There has always been a disconnect between the state organization and the local chapters. I haven’t been involved in 4 – 5 years, but I doubt if that has changed. Chapters wax and wane as to how active and effective they are. The local CANGC chapter sponsors the Sacramento Valley Landscape & Nursery Expo. The biggest problem that I recall, both at Superior Chapter (Sacramento area) and comments from other chapter reps to the state board, was a lack of retailer participation.
The one consistent problem with CANGC has been their web site. It is not updated and isn’t a very useful resource. They’ve never had the in-house resources to keep it current.
With regard to the CAN website…. it is borderline useless. Look at O.A.N. or WSNLA websites~ they manage to get their act together and be pro-active. Typical…
Hi Trey,
I’m just joining CANGC replacing Bob Falconer as Ex. VP and since part of my job is outreach, I was disappointed to hear that you held CANGC in such low regard. I am even more sorry that your attempt to contact us fell into the hole between Bob leaving and me joining to replace him.
The CANGC has taken a leadership role in establishing best practices in a variety of areas, including invasive plant exclusion and remediation, recycling, careful stewardship regarding pesticide usage, and the like. Recycling nursery containers is a headache for everyone–growers, nurseries, consumers, and waste management companies. The plastics they contain are suitable for recycling, but depending on the container may be made of high or low density plastic of several different formulations. They are also contaminated with garden soil and water-borne salts that interfere with recycling efforts.
Because source-plastic sorting and cleaning is a necessity to reuse the nursery container polymers and chemical components but the process is very uncertain, the present state of the art only allows high-temperature combustion and recovery of biofuel gas as a recycling method. I have been told that a pilot plant for such recovery is in the works in the central valley, but at present, all nursery containers are going into the landfills.
I’ll keep you posted on developments as I hear about them and would appreciate you getting in contact and sharing this information with your readers. We’d like to welcome you back as a member and update you on some of the fine work we are doing, including influencing Congress to provide funding in the recent Farm Bill for more than $400 million in funding to combat invasive plants and pests such as Sudden Oak Death, Light Brown Apple Moth, and other conditions affecting plants, nurseries, and lawn and garden retailers.
Bob
“but at present, all nursery containers are going into the landfills.”
Nope. In Davis, they are recyclable and the city has made that known. Contact the city of Davis public works department for more information.