7 minute read
Growing Greener: cutting out plastic
Growıng Greener
Plastics: let ’s kick the habit
Plastic is everywhere in our gardens – it can be hard to avoid and is often impossible to recycle. But Sally Nex is here to help, with tips on how we can reduce our reliance on this problematic material
ILLUSTR ATIONS ELIN BROKENSHAW
Sally Nex is an eco-conscious professional gardener and writer. Her book How to Garden the Low Carbon Way helps you bring your garden in tune with nature and the environment
Next time you’re in your garden, count how many things around you are made of plastic. British gardeners get through about 500 million plastic pots every year. You’ve probably got your own stash, and a fine collection of compost sacks, not to mention plant labels and fertiliser bottles…
It’s not hard to see why we’ve become dependent on plastic – it’s cheap, lightweight and waterproof. There’s the obvious plastic – pots, labels, watering cans – but also hidden plastic, like blister packs with mailorder plug plants, or the green coating on garden wire. Some doesn’t even look like plastic: horticultural fleece is woven polypropylene and whenever it tears, shreds of plastic scatter into your soil. And we’re only beginning to uncover the effects plastics are having in our soil. These may come from damaged pots, torn polythene cloches and many other sources. Research has shown that earthworms living among microplastics lose
weight*, and that plastic pollution causes a decline in the myriad underground creatures that keep our soil healthy. As plastics degrade, they can also release pollutants like phthalates (found in older garden hoses) and bisphenol A (from polycarbonate greenhouses), both harmful to human health.
Looking after your plastic helps, and recycling it keeps it out of landfill longer, too. We recycle only a fraction of our garden plastic, partly because it’s difficult: most council waste schemes don’t accept plant pots. But more garden centres now offer pot recycling and the UK’s largest
Greener facts
• When plastics end up
in landfill, they aren’t harmless. They degrade into tiny toxic particles that contaminate soil and waterways and enter the food chain when animals accidentally eat them
chain, Dobbies, also recycles compost sacks. Some garden centres, such as Edibleculture in Kent, put plants into cardboard sleeves at checkout so you leave the plastic pot behind, as visitors to BBC Gardeners’ World Live were able to experience this year.
Recycling can’t solve everything though. Unlike glass, plastic won’t recycle indefinitely, as it degrades each time – so can only be recycled once or twice. Instead we need to use alternative options, such as fibre, bamboo or grain hulls.
Sometimes it’s a simple swap: wooden seed trays are as easy to use as plastic and look nicer. Occasionally you’ll need to be inventive, like using old, white cotton sheets instead of plastic mesh to protect brassicas, or do things differently, such as plant new potatoes a few weeks later so you don’t need fleece to keep off frost.
And gardening without plastic has its benefits. Non-plastic items are repairable and you can often make them yourself. I find seedlings thrive in wooden trays and paper pots, which are porous so air circulates better; and they establish quicker when planted. Don’t worry if the paper starts to break down before you plant – scoop up the roots in a clump and they’ll be fine.
Unfortunately plastic is sometimes unavoidable: mixing your own compost isn’t practical if you live in a flat, for example. But you can still make plantpot hangers from natural hemp or swap house plant cuttings with friends to avoid buying plastic pots. Make every choice count and you too can grow a greener, plastic-free garden.
Greener facts
• Research from Germany†
indicates that terrestrial microplastic pollution is much worse than that at sea, estimating it to be four to 23 times higher, depending on the environment
Will it compost?
Kim Stoddart, editor of The Organic Way magazine for Garden Organic, outlines how to compost ‘biodegradable’ items
The term ‘biodegradable’ can cause confusion when it comes to knowing what can be home-composted and what cannot. This term simply isn’t a guarantee that an item can be broken down in this way, as many gardeners are finding. Common culprits include coffee cups, supermarket bags and produce wrappers, which may break down in industrial composting environments but not in the average gardener’s coldcomposting system.
To help you negotiate the sometimes confusing labelling, look out for the logo above, from the Organics Recycling Group, which indicates items are home-compostable rather than just biodegradable.
WAYS TO CONSUME LE SS PL A STIC
Here are some easy steps you can take to reduce the amount of new plastic coming into your garden. But don’t bin the plastic you already have – use and look after it, then avoid buying more.
Look after the plastic you’ve got
Every garden has a reserve of plastic built up over the years, and the best way to keep it out of landfill and avoid buying more is to look after it and keep using it. Place plastic items in the shade, as UV light makes them brittle, and store them in sheds over winter. Sitting plants in plastic trays and pots up on shelves helps to avoid accidental damage. TOP TIP Recycle your plastic before it gets too old and starts breaking, to avoid shedding microplastics directly into the environment.
Make your own bio-pots
Re-purpose newspaper and cardboard into biodegradable modules and pots – you’ll be upcycling waste materials into a better start for your plants. Use a wooden paper potter or glass jar to roll newspaper strips into small cylindical pots for sowing seeds, and save cardboard loo roll inners for sowing long-rooted plants such as beans and sweet peas. TOP TIP Make larger pots from thin cardboard: cut out an open-topped box template, then tape the sides together with paper masking-tape.
Shop carefully
Going plastic-free is all about making conscious choices: so refuse to buy twine, eco-pots or wooden plant labels that are packaged in plastic (all are available in paper sleeves or loose online). Save up and invest in fewer, but higher-spec wooden tools, containers, furniture and other products that will last longer, then look after them well. TOP TIP Buying second-hand often means you get better quality at a cheaper price, and with a lower carbon footprint, too.
Turn troughs into water butts
Plastic water butts last for years, even decades. But if they do eventually break, replace them with non-plastic second-hand cattle troughs or old water tanks bought at reclamation yards or auctions. TOP TIP Make a wooden lid for your trough (leaving a hole for the downpipe) and fit a water butt tap to the pipe inlet hole. Then you can fill your can from the tap or just dip it in.
Mix your own potting compost
Blend homemade compost, soil and leafmould to make potting compost without the plastic sack. It’s quick to make, peat-free and low- carbon. You can make as little as a bucketful if you’re just potting up a few house plants, and you can tweak the ingredients to suit the plants. TOP TIP A mix of three parts garden compost, two parts weed-free soil and one part coir, leafmould or well-rotted woodchip, plus a trowelful of seaweed meal per barrow, makes a good all-round multi-purpose potting compost.
Buy bare-root plants
New plants invariably arrive with an unwanted side order of plastic. But bare-root plants, available from September to March, usually come just as they are, dug up while dormant to plant in winter, when they’ll settle in better. A massive range of plants are now sold bareroot, including perennials such as irises, peonies and phlox, as well as shrubs and trees. TOP TIP Unpack bare-root plants as soon as they arrive. Soak tree and shrub roots in water for an hour, before planting as soon as possible.
