The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Piles of plastic tributes at cemetery spark call for rethink on flowers
Piles of plastic flowers and wreaths abandoned at a Dundee cemetery have sparked calls for mourners to consider their use of plastic.
Memorials from the festive period have ended up among heaps of real flowers at Balgay Park, beside the cemetery.
But while natural plants are compostable, the plastic tributes will be sent to landfill.
Mourners are being asked to consider what the memorials they leave are made of.
Sarah Proctor, a volunteer with Lochee Community Group, is asking families to consider what type of floral tributes and plastic packaging they take to cemeteries.
She said: “I was out walking yesterday and passed the rubbish heap in Balgay Park beside the cemetery. It’s covered in fake poinsettias.
“The council workers have obviously done their sweep to clear all the Christmas tributes but these artificial ones, along with all the tinsel-covered hoops and plastic frames, will sit there in landfill for centuries, only for folk to buy new ones next year that will be binned again.”
Sarah said while she understands the desire to leave a floral tribute, she hopes relatives will consider the environment when buying them, or think about taking them home to reuse.
Sarah said: “I would like to say to people, it’s lovely that you show your loved one they are remembered, especially at Christmas, but please come back and take home your plastic wreath – then it will be fine to use next year.”
She added that perhaps people could buy or make a natural wreath, and plant bulbs on the grave.
Sarah said: “I realise there is a cost difference with natural versus artificial flowers, but even a wee bunch of evergreen branches at Christmas would be so much nicer than something you know is going to last forever in a heap of rubbish.”
Single use plastic such as ribbons is also commonplace.
Sarah said: “We had a family funeral last week and when I was ordering our tribute, the florist asked if I wanted ribbon and I said no.”
Sarah said she had discovered big florists like Interflora and Bunches are making an effort to reduce their use of plastic.
She said: “They are using paper or biodegradable cellophane and recycled ribbon.
“There seems to be a gulf between people who are trying to cut down on throwaway plastic, and other people who are maybe having a really tough time in their life and considerations like that are a luxury, especially when they’ve just lost someone they love.
“But for them, saving the tinsel wreath to re-use next year totally makes sense cost-wise, too.”
She said: “At Lochee Community Group we aim to reduce waste and save household items from being sent to landfill. We refurbish them and pass them on at low or no cost to people in need. We also run skills projects such as sewing and woodwork, mending and repurposing donated items.”
Linda Sterry service manager at support service Funeral Link pointed out when families are grieving it can be difficult to consider environmental impacts.
“When someone we love dies it can be so difficult to cope during the days that follow and often we operate on auto-pilot so often the floral choices and particularly the impact on our environment are not uppermost in our minds. It would be great if there were more environmentally friendly options readily available.”