PLANTPOTS WITH A FUTURE!

Joint Press release – Royal Lemkes & Van Dijk Flora

We can rightly say that we live in a plastic age. Plastic waste creates worldwide major challenges for nature and human beings. Our world faces great challenges to find concrete solutions. Royal Lemkes and Van Dijk Flora, both suppliers of house and garden plants to major retailers, have joined forces and expressed their ambition to reach 90% of their traded growing pots being circular by the end of 2022.

Royal Lemkes and Van Dijk Flora worked together over the past year in a joint project within the Dutch programme ‘Plastic Packaging Waste as Raw Material’ (KVG). The target of this project was to look for new means of reusing reprocessed plastic packaging waste in horticulture. During the research period it has been established that already a lot of plastic consumer waste is being reused, but improvement can be reached in the ‘end of life phase’ of growing pots. The project was completed at the end of last year and Royal Lemkes and Van Dijk Flora have set this ambition based on the gained knowledge.

A circular ambition
The target of both plant companies is to make sure that within 3 years the growing pots are made of a minimum of 80% recycled content (post-consumer recycled plastic) and the pots are fully recyclable. This means among other things that they do not contain any ‘carbon black’ pigment. Waste is being sorted using the Near Infra-Red method. With this method black plastic cannot be detected and ends up in landfill or incineration.

With this circular ambition the leading companies contribute greatly to the reuse of consumer waste. And to a growing pot which will turn into raw material for a new product at the end of its life.

Growing pot of the future
During the pilot Royal Lemkes and van Dijk Flora have come across many innovative solutions in their search for alternative materials.
Both companies therefore call upon all stakeholders from inside and outside of the horticultural sector to discuss future developments of growing pots within the circular ambition.