Garden Retailers Pledge Support for National Plastics Recycling Event

Gardeners are encouraged to bring clean, dry garden plastics to one of the garden centre ‘depots’ during National Plastics Recycling Event from June 25 to July 4.

Credit: Flickr / boboroshi

Plastic recycling events – June 25 to July 4, 2011

Canadian gardeners will soon have more options when it comes to responsibly disposing of garden pots and trays. After a humble start to the first National Plastics Recycling Event, when just six garden centres collected more than 53,000 pounds of plastic, 40 Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) members have eagerly pledged their support to the 2011 cause.

Collecting garden plastics for reuse isn’t as easy as it seems, say nurseryfolk. Customers often bring an assortment of flowerpots back to nurseries, hoping that they can be replanted. Donations are usually declined because sanitized containers are key to preventing the spread of serious plant pests and disease, but the proper sterilization of used pots can be a pricey and complicated endeavour. Processors who recycle soil-laden pots are few. Luckily, the national initiative has partnered the horticulture industry with committed stewardship organization, CleanFARMS, and with suppliers like Myers Lawn & Garden Group, who are making strides in overcoming the problem. Local recyclers West Coast Plastics Recycling (BC) and Plastix Canada (Ontario) have gone out of their way to help too.

Phoenix Perennials & Specialty Plants is a mail order and retail nursery located in Richmond, British Columbia. Proprietor, Gary Lewis, joined the program last week and was happy to make the extra effort; “The nursery industry is the ‘original green industry’. We grow the plants and educate the public about how to add beauty to and improve the environments of our cities and towns. It’s important that we continue this leadership by working to reduce the ecological footprint of our industry by encouraging the recycling of the plastic pots, flats and other materials we require to grow and sell our plants. The National Plastics Recycling Event is a visionary and important program that provides a means for nurseries across the country to offer a recycling service to our customers. Our customers are impressed that we are showing environmental responsibility. They are overjoyed to get rid of their plastic pots without having to throw them out, and we get to do the right thing as a business.”

Gardeners are encouraged to bring clean, dry garden plastics to one of the garden centre ‘depots’ during National Plastics Recycling Event from June 25 to July 4. To find a participating garden centre near you, visit www.canadanursery.com and click on “National Plastics Recycling Event.”

 

Backgrounder

The following garden retailers and recycling partners will accept garden plastics during the National Plastics Recycling Event from June 24 to July 5.

In B.C.
Cannor Nursery, Abbotsford
Cannor Nursery, Parksville
David Hunter Garden Centers, Surrey
Minter Country Garden Store, Chilliwack
Northwest Landscape Supply Ltd., Burnaby
Phoenix Perennials & Specialty Plants, Richmond
Port Kells Nursery, Surrey

In Saskatchewan
Cornell Design & Landscaping, Moose Jaw

In Ontario
Alcock Nurseries Ltd., Campbellcroft
Art’s Landscaping Nursery & Garden Centre, Goderich
Bala Garden Centre, Bala
Black Forest Garden Centre, Aurora
Bradford Greenhouses Garden Gallery, Barrie
Bradford Greenhouses Garden Gallery, Bradford
Carp Garden Centre, Ashton
Cudmore’s Garden Centre Inc., Oakville
Green Thumb Garden Centre, Nepean
Greenbelt Farm, Mitchell
Humber Nurseries Landscaping Inc., Brampton
Kamstra Landscaping & Garden Supplies, Oshawa
Make it Green Garden Centre, Stittsville
Mavis Garden Supplies, Mississauga
Native Plant Source, Kitchener
Plant World, Etobicoke
Tarantino Nursery Ltd., Vaughan
Taylor Nursery, Milton
Valleyview Gardens, Scarborough
Van Dongen’s Garden Centre, Hornby
Verbeeks Farm and Garden Centre Inc., Clinton
Walter’s Greenhouses & Garden Centre, Paris
Waterloo Flowers, Waterloo

In New Brunswick
Scott’s Nursery Ltd., Lincoln

In Nova Scotia
Atlantic Gardens, Bedford
Atlantic Gardens, Sackville Lakeland
Plant World, Dartmouth In Newfoundland
O’Neill’s Gardenland, Spaniard’s Bay