Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Help - micro plastics in bagged compost!

BeginnerGardener123BeginnerGardener123 Posts: 14
in Problem solving
Hello, I have been filling a newly built small veg bed with bagged garden soil and compost. Both appear to have large quantities of small plastic pieces in them. My plan was to have the bed without a bottom so that the plant roots can grow into the garden soil below. I am now really worried that I will be introducing plastic to my garden if I use this. Any advice on this? Is this a common issue with bagged compost, the manufacturer is board na mona - the greener gardening company? I'm also not sure how to dispose of the compost now if I decide not to use it and where to get a "cleaner" alternative from. 

«1

Posts

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Quite common when the MPC is composed of recycled garden waste that has been composted.  Just think yourself lucky you didn't get a 6 inch nail like I did.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    It may be content from bagged up, processed household green waste. It's good to use that - but yes, there are often bits of all sorts in it.
  • BeginnerGardener123BeginnerGardener123 Posts: 14
    Fidgetbones - I did get cut from a nail too so there's clearly all sorts. Should I not be worried about introducing plastic in to my garden then. Is there any risk of wildlife eating it by accident ?
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I stopped using compost that includes 'green waste' as like others I've found lots of bits of plastic, glass, string and other stuff that I don't want in my garden.
    I'm also aware that some dog owners put dog 'waste' into their green bins - so it's not for me I'm afraid

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • BeginnerGardener123BeginnerGardener123 Posts: 14
    Thanks Pete, any recommendations for what I can use that would be cleaner? I have started a compost heap but it is going to take a while to be ready. It's my first year in this garden and there are quite a few sunken areas in it, I had placed the veg bed in one such area and my intention was to make up the height with the bagged topsoil and compost. 
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Theoretically green garden municipal waste is 'cooked' at very high temps, so pathogens and weed seeds shouldn't be a problem. I personally find it hard to kep all plastics out of the soil. A fair amount turns up in my own homemade compost (though it's only me making it). I find quite a bit still from previous tenants. I tend to fish those bits out.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    When I stopped buying 'green waste' compost 4-5 years ago I switched to Bord na Mona Growise MPC. It doesn't contain green waste and I've found it really good.
    I use either the one with purple on the bag or the orange one which contains some John Innes compost too. Both are really good.
    I read somewhere that they now also have a compost that does contain green waste and it sounds like that's the one you bought.

    I know the owner of a local nursery who grow masses of plants from seed and they have always used Bulrush compost and the results are very good.
    I did try it one year but I couldn't get on with it. Being coir based I couldn't get the watering right.

    If it's not for raising plants or sowing seed, I think you may be better off using topsoil and rotted manure of some kind. Multi Purpose Compost breaks down quite quickly and doesn't add anything beneficial to the soil. If you're growing plants, a topsoil/manure mix is much more beneficial, especially for (most) veg

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    Most gardens have quite a lot of "waste" incorporated into the soil anyway - I keep digging up crisp packets here.  Plastic blows around and gets stuck in hedges etc.  It's a sad fact of life... 

    I make my own compost, but also buy in commercially made "green waste" compost, from which I remove the odd bit of Lego, piece of plastic bag etc.  I feel the benefit of the compost on my uncultivated clay soil outweighs the disadvantage of the "foreign bodies" which appear in it.  Unfortunately very little is perfect in this life...

    The waste material is composted at such a high temperature that I reckon any nasties like dog waste will be rendered inert, @Pete.8 .
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Liriodendron said:

    The waste material is composted at such a high temperature that I reckon any nasties like dog waste will be rendered inert, @Pete.8 .
    It's still not to my taste tho... :)

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • BeginnerGardener123BeginnerGardener123 Posts: 14
    Thanks all for the suggestions. To build up the height of my bed, I was planning on using roughly a 50:50 mixture of topsoil and compost. Is that the right approach or do I need to reduce the compost quantity or substitute for manure? Any suggestions on where to get the topsoil from? I fear now I may have the same problem if I buy it from a supplier... There's lots of free topsoil on offer in the local area from people doing extensions etc but I am also wary of that for a veg bed as I wouldn't know what's in it... Perhaps I'm overly worried about this altogether though, not sure.. 
Sign In or Register to comment.