Sep 18, 2009

Eat Your Vegetables; Recycle the Mulch

Vegetable growers have a waste problem: What to do with those acres and acres of used plastic mulch film.

Plastic mulch is amazing stuff, surely, that gives plenty of advantages – which is probably why growers are using more and more of it. And who can blame them? Mother Nature is an unpredictable mistress, and they need every assurance they can get.

But of course, every solution leads to new problems, and finding responsible ways to get rid of all that plastic is a thorny dilemma. Recycling it sounds ideal, but there isn’t much of that going on right now.

If recycling is to become a viable option, a lot of things need to change, including certain attitudes.

Now, I’m not trying to lecture anybody. I’m simply standing here, legs spread, one hand on hip, the other hand wagging a finger in your face, reminding you of the importance of recycling – and how you could be doing more. If that irks you, I feel your pain. My wife has done the same thing to me.

But back to the finger wagging. I’m sure there are plenty of growers out there willing to take on extra responsibility, but there are some who – even if they had access to actual recycling companies – seem to think they shouldn’t have to lift a finger when it comes to recycling their used plastic mulch. Their job, so the attitude seems to be, is to grow vegetables, not to gather, clean and bundle the dirt-covered plastic they use to do that.

But that’s like me expecting my curbside recycler to come into my house, gather all my used plastic, clean it and take it out himself, while I lounge on the couch and watch VH1 Classic. Well, I don’t think my recycler wants to do that, and – as much as I enjoy lounging on the couch and watching VH1 Classic – I certainly don’t want some stranger in my house going through my things.

I’m not saying growers should be responsible for the actual recycling of their plastic, just the rolling, bundling and maybe a little bit of the cleaning before it’s picked up by a (hypothetical) recycling company. That seems like a reasonable expectation.

I also realize that gathering and cleaning acres of plastic mulch film is much more difficult than gathering and cleaning a few used milk jugs. The mulch is dirtier and there’s a lot more of it. It takes time and money to roll it up and clean it, time and money that could be spent more profitably elsewhere. Unlike you, my livelihood isn’t affected by my recycling habits.

Of course, as long as there are no real recycling programs out there for ag plastic, everything I’m saying right now is academic. It will stay academic if the use of biodegradable plastic mulch ever becomes commonplace.

Biodegradable mulch just might be the answer you guys have been looking for. If you can just plow what’s left of your mulch into the field at the end of the season and not have to worry about the environmental damage you’re doing, I bet you’d feel mighty pleased with yourselves (my finger is still wagging).

There are potential deterrents to biodegradable mulch, of course, at least for right now. The extra cost might give you pause, and you certainly don’t want the mulch degrading before your crop is ready.

But, there might come a day when biodegradable mulch is cheap and ubiquitous and stays intact as long as you need it to. Bet you’re looking forward to that.

Now, why don’t you just sit in your room for a while and think about everything I’ve told you.