Trust consigns plastic plant pots to posterity

NT sets four-year deadline to rid garden centres of environmentally harmful seed trays and planters

THE National Trust has declared war on the plastic plant pot, pledging to replace environmentally unfriendly containers within the next four years.

Plastic seed trays and planters are a staple in most garden centres because of their durability and ease of potting. But many are discarded after plants have been put in the ground, and a lot of kerbside recycling schemes will not take them.

Yesterday the trust announced that it was investigating alternatives to single use plastics in its plant nurseries as part of a scheme to get rid of most plastic products by 2022.

The organisation has already moved to reusable pots and trays in shops.

Lizzy Carlyle, head of environmental practices at the National Trust, said: “The damage caused by plastics is a complex, global issue. We’re working to come up with solutions, and in the meantime are doing all that we can to find innovative ways of reducing the impact of our operations and investigating new ways of doing more.”

The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) also said that gardeners were starting to demand biodegradable plant pots. Some garden centres now offer a service where customers can bring back their trays for recycling after they have planted their purchases.

But the HTA said there had been a “sea change” in how the public thought about plastic since the BBC’S Blue

Planet II aired last year, coupled with Defra’s new 25-year environment plan, which has vowed to stop plastic entering the ocean.

The HTA has promised to look at bringing in an industry-wide agreement to tackle the issue at its committee meeting in June.

Some manufacturers are ahead of the game. Modiform, a horticulture packaging firm, has introduced a range of Ecoexpert trays made from the pulp of recycled paper, all of which can be composted or will degrade naturally. Roy Van Heugten, product manager for Ecoexpert, said that many retailers were keen to ditch plastic pots in favour of environmentally friendly versions.

“We’re very excited about this range. We’ve put a lot of work into it over the last few years and we are already talking to some big retailers about using it.”

Aeroplas, the plastic container manufacturer, has also launched a carbonfree polypropylene plant pot suitable for kerbside recycling collections from households, if they have been cleaned. Each year 400 million tons of plastic is produced around the world and 40per cent of it is single-use. In January, Theresa May, the Prime Minister, pledged to eradicate all avoidable plastic waste in the UK by 2042, and last month the Government announced a consultation on a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers.

The National Trust said it was exploring locating bottle banks at its sites and has also promised to withdraw throwaway plastic bottles across its 343 cafes and tea rooms.

It has already launched a pilot scheme offering reusable and biodegradable cups and recycled bags.