Missouri Botanical Garden Saves Plastic From Landfills
The Missouri Botanical Garden’s Plastic Pot Recycling Program set a new record during the 2006 collection period by saving 70,000 lbs. of waste from landfills. Since the program’s inception in 1997, more than one-half million lbs. of pots and trays have been collected and recycled, completing an environmentally friendly circle for area gardeners.
The William T. Kemper Center for Home Gardening at St. Louis’s Missouri Botanical Garden leads the initiative to collect plastic gardening containers and polystyrene and polypropylene cell packs and trays on six weekends every May and June. Garden workers and 62 volunteers donated 480 hours to the 2006 effort, collecting approximately 700 lbs. of plastic per hour over the course of 102 operating hours. Four local gardening centers and two municipal recycling centers also contributed to the project’s efforts. About 20,000 lbs. of horticultural waste was collected by several nurseries and garden centers in the St. Louis area, including Waldbart & Sons, For the Garden by Haefners, Summerwinds at Timber Creek, Schmittels Nursery, City of Kirkwood Recycling Center and City of St. Peters Recycling Center.
“There is an infectious nature about gardeners wanting to do the right thing and recycle their pots and trays,” said Steven Cline, manager of the Kemper Center and Pot Recycling Program. “We continue to see increased participation each year, which has inspired us to expand the program by acquiring new granulation machinery and developing a better way to handle the mix of plastic. We have also found that off-site collections are extremely productive and feel the future of this effort lies in this satellite collection approach.”
Since 2003, Missouri Botanical Garden has partnered with Environmental Recycling, Inc. (ERI) to transform the amassed horticultural waste into durable, black, plastic lumber through the Pots to Planks program. Grants from the Missouri Environmental Improvement and Energy Resource Authority, in partnership with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, assisted the Garden’s 2004 purchase of grinding equipment. In 2005, grants from the St. Louis-Jefferson Solid Waste Management District and support from Monrovia Growers contributed to additional purchases, aiding Missouri Botanical Garden’s capabilities to process the ever-expanding volume of the collections. The equipment processes plastic into small chips that are easier and more cost-effective to transport for recycling.
In the last three years, the collection was processed into more than 2,500 planks of plastic lumber available for public purchase as raised garden beds or composting bins. Due to rising petroleum and transportations costs, the program changed direction in 2006 while maintaining its dedication to reuse of recycled plastic. Currently, the horticultural regrind is sold for the production of railroad ties and landscape timbers for use in retaining walls or as landscape elements.
For more information on the Plastic Pot Recycling program, visit www.mobot.org/hort/activ/plasticpots.shtml or call (314) 577-9561.
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