Group to push for container standardization

DAYTON, Ohio – A group of retailers and growers say recycling efforts will make it even more important for the industry to settle on a finite number of container sizes.

Platt Hill, owner of Platt Hill Nursery in Bloomington, Ill., said during ANLA’s Retail Roadshow that a group is making a concerted effort to consolidate horticultural container sizes, which he said “have always been a pain, but with the industry trying to keep all that plastic out of the landfill, it’s important that we limit the pot and flat sizes.”

Hill said a group plans to go before the ANLA Senate next month to get the ball rolling toward container standardization.

When Hill mentioned the initiative during the Roadshow, bus riders had mixed reactions. Some said that standardization and consolidation are necessary to move our recycling efforts to the next level. Others said that many growers and retailers use containers as a way to differentiate their product line, and taking away flexibility would make the industry too homogenous.

-- Kevin

Comments

[Ed McConkey]

Standardization of containers sizes will have little affect on recycling. To help recycling efforts it would be better to have standardization on materials used in the containers. Nursery cans are generally either PE or PP. The two do not blend well so need to be seperated when trying to recycle. Flower pots are generally PP, but a few PS. Then there are the packs and thermoformed pots and trays. These are PS, PP, PE, ABS or PET. How is anybody suppose to sort those and recycle them? Now you throw in biodegradables and you make an even bigger mess. Maybe we need standardization of resins used in pots? It would take 100% cooperation or you would still have problems in recycling.
For degradable pots that look like plastic, I suggest a color standard so that they are quickly identified. If the tan to light brown color were reserved for degradables they could be quickly identified and on top of that, in the compost they would not stand out but blend in with the soil until they had totally degraded.

[glen reeder]

this is an idea long overdue. It drives the consumer nuts, not to mention the garden center pricing. there must be 20 different one gallon trade pots alone. HELP US