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Is this green industry
REALLY GREEN? N
ot Green Enough! We can make the industry much greener. Nursery Supplies, Inc. (NSI), including Summit Plastic Co. and Plastic Holdings, Inc., has been a leader in recycling, innovator in new product designs and new material used to manufacture horticulture containers for over 60 years. Since the beginning “green” was more than just the color of the Nursery Supplies’ logo, it has been a part of our DNA. That philosophy of protecting our planet and environment through recycling continues today. Since 2015, NSI has recycled more than 247 million pounds of post-consumer and post-industrial plastic, 49 million pounds per year! As good as that sounds the horticulture industry still faces a big challenge with recycling plastic containers.
60 | BWI COMPANIES, INC.
In 2017, 26.8 million tons of plastic were landfilled in the United States according to EPA.gov. Despite being a “green” industry, we produce an incredible amount of plastic waste and we do not have a good closed-loop reuse system. The reality is that recycling is not an easy process. It is tough to manage, takes extensive resources to maintain, adds complexity to the manufacturing facility and overall company, and the benefits may not produce the ROI that makes it sustainable. Other factors considered are the freight to get loads of used plastic to one of the few facilities that recycle and ensuring that the material we get back is not contaminated. The product must be free of dirt, and other non-recyclable materials that must be removed before being recycled, as well as the need to separate the different plastics.
