Plastic isn’t necessarily an environmental obstacle

Your Maine Garden

Across Maine and the nation we seem to be gradually coming to our environmental senses, and none too soon, as far as Mother Nature is concerned. Putting ecologically sound ideas into practice amounts to a small revolution in our lifestyles, as we learn to conserve, recycle and curtail waste. As with any revolution, however, a certain amount of confusion creeps in with respect to the issues.

Take plastic, for instance. In talking to many customers each spring, it seems clear to me that plastic in almost any form has come to symbolize the worst form of solid waste. I am often challenged for growing plants in plastic pots when containers made of wood fiber are available. In response to this challenge, I offer the following perspective.

Plastic, to this gardener, represents one of the highest and best uses of petroleum. Stop what you are doing right now and look around to see how many objects within view are made of plastic, how many intricately shaped and molded items that you take for granted. Almost any plastic object can be made from another material, wood or glass or steel or clay, but not with such economy of material and flexibility of design. Virtue number one of plastic is that it is ultimately useful and durable.

But, you say, plastic doesn’t break down, it doesn’t biodegrade. True enough, although sunlight does play hob with many types. The bigger point, however, is that there is no special virtue in having plastic break down. If it were to break down to its constituent parts, the effect would be to put more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere where we don’t want it, if the scientists are right about the greenhouse effect. It seems to me that what we want are plastics that do not degrade, so that when they eventually reach the landfill they have a neutral effect on the soil and water conditions there.

There is one place where plastic’s resistance to breakdown is a real threat to life on earth, and that is in the sea. All sorts of marine life — from terns to turtles — can get tangled up in our cast-off containers with disastrous results. This problem constitutes just one of many reasons why mankind must stop dumping garbage into the ocean. But this is essentially a separate issue.

So, virtue number two is that plastic is relatively inert in terms of its tendency to pollute the water we drink and the air we breathe. The third important quality of plastic is that it has spared the lives of innumerable trees. Most often, a plastic container is replaced with a paper one when we outlaw the former, creating the notion that paper is environmentally preferable to plastic. Both materials have their environmental costs in manufacturing and both can be recycled. The bigger issue is that we demand that everything be packaged to a fare-thee-well and we fall short when it comes to recycling the empty package. Let’s put our thoughts and efforts into recycling.

Returning to my own sphere of influence, I intend to continue using plastic pots in the greenhouse, as they are superior to fiber containers in many ways.

Each year we recycle more pots than the year before, thanks to the customers who, on their own, have begun bringing back empties. It has reached the point that we will start buying back any container we sell, if folks can take the time to wash them out.

Michael Zuck of Bangor is a horticulturist and the NEWS garden columnist.