In CNN today:
According to the USDA, large growers and nurseries use tens of millions of plastic pots in a single season. They are not recyclable in many places, and 98% wind up in landfills. In 2009, the USDA calculated that the container crop industry had produced 4 billion units, equalling 1.66 billion pounds of plastic.
"That piece of nature is wrapped in one of the most toxic materials for nature," said Andreas Szankay, a plant-shop owner in Brooklyn. "It doesn't really have to be that way."
The alternative is biodegradable pots, which Szankay and his wife Stephanie aim to popularize with their shop, Pollyn. They replant all their nursery plants into bio-pots, which are made of materials including coconut fiber, cow manure, and paper pulp.
Bio-pots keep plants healthier because "they allow for more air and water exchange," Andreas explained, and can help fertilize a plant's roots, depending on the material.
—"How green is your Pinterest-perfect plant collection?" Jacqui Palumbo. CNN. September 1, 2022.
I added the link to Pollyn in the quoted passage above.
Update: In January 2023, a global index of plastic use found that single-use plastic increased from 2019 to 2021.
'We can't recycle our way out of this': https://f24.my/9Wye
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