Healthy Pots, Healthy Planet Surveys Growers

healthypotshealthy
Jan 13
2 min read

In September, Healthy Pots, Healthy Planet posted a survey of growers in Greenhouse Grower magazine. Growers are the starting point for container selection and use, so we were interested in their perspective.

Their responses were quite interesting. Here are some of the results that stood out to us:

94 percent of the growers who responded to the survey reported that they are using petroleum-based plastic pots. This is not surprising, given that most of what we see out there is still dominated by plastic.
Of the types of plastic containers used, plug trays get the greatest use. This aligns with reports by others, including Marie Chieppo, that plug tray use surpasses other sizes.
The majority of respondents – about 67 percent – are unhappy with the performance of alternative containers.
A variety of different materials is used for alternative containers. Respondents reported using bioplastic (a type of plastic that derives from plants rather than fossils) most, followed by wood fiber and starch-based products.
Asking how growers feel about petroleum-based pots illustrates the tough spot growers are in. Plastic has advantages that they rely on, but they are deeply concerned about the environmental downsides.
Surprisingly, the majority of respondents re-use plastic pots, so perhaps growers are not overly concerned about contamination. The next greatest disposal method was sending used pots to trash.
Growers’ top choices for disposal options were industrial composting and recycling.
The biggest problem with alternatives was durability.
The top two attributes that keep growers from using more alternative pots are cost and performance.
100 percent of respondents agreed that when it comes to the environmental impact of alternatives, what matters most is a better net impact than petroleum-based pots.

There’s more, and you can read the entire survey here. The answers reinforce our understanding of the desire for more sustainable options and the challenge of competing with petroleum-based plastic.