The 'Green' Industry Lives up to its Name

Loma Vista Nursery accepts all nursery plastic, even materials that it can’t reuse, and forwards everything to its Ottawa, Kansas, location for processing.
Just call it the green-industry paradox: Growers produce eco-friendly, oxygen-generating plants in plastic pots that rarely end up in recycling bins. Amazingly, this contradiction remained a sideline issue — until a few years ago.
 
As the sustainability trend took hold of the country, garden writers turned their attention to the tons of horticulture plastics discarded every year. Some types could go in curbside recycling bins — if landscapers and consumers had access to that service. But the vast majority ended up in landfills.
 
It was a wake-up call for the horticulture community. In short order, green-industry suppliers, consumers and non-profit organizations began developing programs to recycle and reuse hort-plastic. Among the leaders in this effort was East Jordan Plastics, based in East Jordan, Mich.

The challenge
Nathan Diller, recycling manager at East Jordan Plastics, said there were a number of reasons why his company decided to take on the recycling challenge.
 
“We believe the most sustainable growing container is one made from recycled plastics,” he said. “The best way to achieve long-term sustainability is to recycle and reuse the growing containers that we make. We knew we had to do something to maintain the long-term sustainability of plastics.”
 
East Jordan recognized that fluctuating demand for plastic caused hiccups in the recycle/reuse process the green industry was striving for.
 
“What would happen in the past, when these containers would be stockpiled, you’d see the plastic market go high and people would be interested in purchasing plastic,” Diller said.
 
But when the markets were down, it wasn’t attractive to many recyclers.
 
“But we found ourselves in a unique position,” Diller said. “We’re an end user of the material and we could use it to manufacture new containers.”
 
So who else would be better equipped to deal with the plastic? Well, if they had machines to process it…

Ramping up
East Jordan Plastics jumped into the recycling initiative full-force.
 
“In the spring of 2008 we really started the push to collect used containers,” Diller said. “At that time there wasn’t a lot of consumer collection—it was mostly containers used by growers. We started building a stockpile knowing full well we were going to have a [recycling] facility.”
 
That fall, East Jordan Plastics found space for its recycling venture in South Haven, Mich. The location was ideal, since it was at the crossroads of the company’s popular shipping routes. Meanwhile, machinery to process the used plastic was being custom built for East Jordan.
 
After that, the project progressed rapidly. The machinery was delivered in March 2009; the facility went to a two-shift operation that fall, and in early 2010 a third shift was added. Used pots, trays, tags and bench cards are currently being ground up and reprocessed around the clock.
 
East Jordan picks up and pays for the used plastic. Reimbursement rates depend on a number of factors, including material type, quality and quantity.  Current East Jordan Plastics customers usually have a credit applied to their account. Others will receive a check. East Jordan is on track this year to process 10 million pounds of plastic on the current recycling line.

Grower goes green
A container recycling program at Loma Vista Nursery in Olathe, Kansas, started small a couple of years ago, but has morphed into a major venture. In 2009, the nursery reclaimed almost 70,000 containers ranging in size from No. 1s up to No. 15s. The nursery also recycled six semi-truck loads of plastic film.
 
“A few years ago, we realized the need to do everything we could to keep nursery plastic and containers from ending up in the landfill,” said Mark Clear, president and owner of Loma Vista Nursery.
 
Because of the program’s steady growth, Loma Vista has one full-time employee dedicated to sorting, stacking and cleaning the reclaimed pots.

“We are able to provide a valuable service for our customers who participate in the program by providing a cost-effective outlet for their leftover pots and related plastic materials,” said Dave Kronoshek, operations manager at Loma Vista. “We’ve invested in some equipment and now are able to efficiently deal with this excess plastic material in-house.”
 
The nursery’s landscape distribution center has become a drop off point for landscapers to recycle containers.
 
“We accept all nursery plastic, even materials that we can’t reuse, and forward everything to our Ottawa [Kansas] location for processing,” said Lyndsi Oestmann, manager of the distribution center. “Our customers really appreciate the convenience we offer.”
 
The nursery also accepts wood chips from tree trimming companies in the Kansas City area. The chips are used to mulch the B&B inventory in the holding yard.
 
“We are doing everything possible to be environmentally conscious,” Clear said. “We are reclaiming water at our container growing operation and we have a company-wide initiative to recycle office paper and pop cans.” 
 
For more: East Jordan Plastics, www.eastjordanplastics.com. Loma Vista Nursery, www.lomavistanursery.com.