Looking for cheap, sustainable ways to dispose of plastics

Greenhouse grower Doug Cole of D.S. Cole Growers in Loudon, N.H., told New Hampshire Public Radio that he uses about a half million plastic containers a year. He said it has been difficult finding someone in his area of the country that wants to recycle and use the discarded pots. He said the only people he is aware of who are interested in recycling the plastic are located in the Midwest. Cole, who operates 9 acres of greenhouses along with a retail garden center, said he has found a local company that was willing to pick up and recycle his containers. The catch, the company required a full truckload. Cole said most garden centers, regardless of size,  discard of used containers in landfills. 

Cole has begun working with East Jordan Plastics in Michigan to recycle his used containers. He said the company was willing to pick up his containers even though he did not fill an entire truck. He said the company appears to be more flexible in its ability to pick up used containers since it is running trucks in many delivery areas. East Jordan has initiated Project 100%, whose goal is to ensure that all of the plastic used in the making of horticultural containers is recycled.

Growers who use plastic film to cover their greenhouses may be hard pressed to find a landfill that accepts the used film. Cole said the landfills don’t want to deal with a big bundle of plastic, regardless of how neatly it is folded or baled.

Lois Levitan, director of the Recycling Ag Plastics Project at Cornell Univ., said since most plastic processors want the film to be neatly baled, growers and farmers are finding alternative disposal methods, some of which are illegal, including burning, plowing them into the ground or discarding it in wooded areas.