On March 18, 2023, we’re celebrating the sixth annual Global Recycling Day. Created by the Global Recycling Foundation to recognize the important part recycling plays in preserving the future of our planet for future generations, Global Recycling Day is a time for all of us to consider the resources we use and rethink what we throw away.
It’s vital to better understand how we can better contribute to a more sustainable, stable, and green planet. One of the missions for Global Recycling Day is to ask people across the planet to stop thinking of what they use as waste and rather view it instead as a resource to be valued and repurposed.
How we’re helping
This thinking is partly why we’re currently spearheading a national effort to ensure all of the plastic used in making horticultural plant containers is recycled. We’ve always been determined to create environmentally friendly solutions that meet growers’ quality standards—be it wooden flats or up-to 100% recycled plastic containers. And when we recycle more, less plastic ends up in landfills and incineration plants, which helps to protect our natural resources.
With plastic material from post-industrial and post-consumer streams, our fully energy-efficient, closed-loop plastic recycling process redistributes that plastic as tailored, sustainably designed solutions for growers. After growers use our containers, they send them back to us to develop newly recycled pots, trays and inserts. This all happens at our 150,000-square-foot recycling facility in South Haven, Michigan, where we recycle nearly 20 million pounds of used plastic from horticultural products each year—and even more from post-industrial streams.
What you can do to join in
Instead of throwing out plastic containers and trays or keeping them forever, growers can partner with us to not only recycle but get paid to implement a solution that’ll leave a lasting impact on businesses and the industry. Why else should you consider recycling plastic plant containers?
- Recycling enhances the growing container industry’s public image as a wise steward of the environment by reusing sustainable plastic growing containers.
- Some recycled plastic trays can be reused for multiple growing seasons, then recycled again to create new containers.
- Recycling achieves a better sustainable footprint due to reduction in trash, freight, and more.
But, most importantly, recycling is better for growers, the industry, and the planet as a whole—at the end of the day, it’s all about leaving this planet in better shape for those who come next.