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Any tips using less plastic in garden?

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  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    That’s  ok Zoomer as long as you don’t have to drive the car to the nursery to return the pots.
    after what Ive just been viewing on the tv, I can’t see any point in bothering with any of it, we are just so small and insignificant.  
    If you think keeping a black pot will save us, I’m not so sure.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • PurplerainPurplerain Posts: 1,053
    edited January 2019
    Reading this thread I think it is a great shame that gardeners, who do all they can to attract bees and wildlife are made to feel guilty about using plastic. Of course most of us reuse what we have, but we live in a world of plastic.

    The real blame should be laid at the door of manufacturers, who really don't care and will only change if Governments tax them for using it. Do we really need plastic wrap around a cucumber? It is a much bigger problem than how we work in our private gardens.
    SW Scotland
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited January 2019
    Surely it’s not about blame ... it’s about whichever folk are in a position to change something for the better, doing so. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    No need for plastic plant labels, my OH collects wooden lolly sticks, chip forks and coffee stirrers for me when he takes his morning constitutional.  I write on them with a fine-tipped permanent marker.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    josusa47 said:
    No need for plastic plant labels, my OH collects wooden lolly sticks, chip forks and coffee stirrers for me when he takes his morning constitutional.  I write on them with a fine-tipped permanent marker.
    Maybe we should address the environmental aspect of cutting down trees to make such things?
    Devon.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    They do grow properly maintained forests of pine for that sort of thing, the trees are short lived anyway and are not much use in the environment.
    Its a good job my OH is not contributing to this, he’d be hung drawn and quartered straight away.
    When I told him about the flower pots, he just looked and walked away, muttering something about vegans having foreign holidays. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Lyn said:
    They do grow properly maintained forests of pine for that sort of thing, the trees are short lived anyway and are not much use in the environment.

    I'm not convinced by that claim. 
    Devon.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited January 2019
    Hostafan1 said:
    Lyn said:
    They do grow properly maintained forests of pine for that sort of thing, the trees are short lived anyway and are not much use in the environment.

    I'm not convinced by that claim. 
    At least when they break down they  decompose properly and don't get washed into the sea and swallowed by the fish ... that's why plastic is so bad.

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Lizzie27 said:
    This whole "get rid of plastic" thing is a load of hysterical nonsense. We are now far too reliant on it to be able to live without it except in small instances. Whatever measures we in the UK put into place is far outweighed by the sheer amount of plastic emanating from the Far East for example and I can't see them cutting down on their use any time soon.  As forgetting rid of cotton products, God give me strength, what do you suppose we put on our backs, our beds and our babies?   
    I'm not convinced by this arguement that the 'Far East' is making enough plastic waste that the rest of the world shouldn't bother to deal with theirs. From what I've seen the plastic being dumped in China etc could well have originated in the UK or the USA and was dumped because we were sending them such low grade rubbish. Think about it:

    China etc have invested heavily in recycling technology which is why they were happy to accept our waste.

    China etc now refuse to take our recycling so what are these plants working with? Their own waste surely? (I think we still export some properly cleaned and graded plastics but I'm not 100% on that)

    Our recycling streams have had to step up to deal with demand here and produce better quality recycled product. Hence the chaos at the moment with councils that didn't bother to invest when it was a free for all sending stuff overseas. My point being that we haven't been sending recyclable plastics overseas if it isn't recyclable here.

    So to anyone who thinks they don't need to put cleaned and sorted waste out for the bin men, waste that you've created and are responsible passing on in the best condition possible for reuse, I would urge you to look at the facts, see how much more waste we create as a country than elsewhere in the world and follow the reduce, reuse, recycle rules. This applies to everything including plant pots.

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • Thanks for sharing your thoughts, got to know many things. 

    However, I have found this post on this website which is also about how can we reduce using plastic for gardening. 
    https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/gardening-with-less-plastic/
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