Bonnie Plants, an Alabama-based national plant wholesaler that supplies Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowe’s and many other chains has come up with a significant environmental improvement for the sale of its potted plants. The company is using biodegradable pots for its plants to significantly reduce waste and eliminate post planting shock for the plants themselves.
Bonnie operates nationally from 33 growing facilities across the country and ships products regionally.
The biodegradable pots are part of the company’s “Bonnie’s Going Greener for You” effort towards providing consumers with environmentally friendly products. “We’re dedicated to giving our customers earth-friendly products, but products that perform as well as or better than conventional products,” said Dennis Thomas General Manager of Bonnie
The company has two biodegradable pots for its plants; one a peatpot and the other a recycled fiber pot. The plants are sold directly in the biodegradable pots and the consumer simply removes the bottom of the pot (and works it into the soil) and plants the plant, container and all. The biodegradable pot will simply decompose and the plant will not suffer the common post planting shock as it adjusts to its new environment.
I think this move quiet significant given the tremendous amount of waste plastic pots produce. The majority of traditional plastic pots are not recycled even though they could be so this new approach from Bonnie is a major advancement in the gardening world.
The significance of the new pots are magnified when you consider Bonnie supplies plants to nearly every major retailer in the U.S. When a company with that type of distribution makes an environmental improvement even if its not an original innovation the effects are tremendously positive simply due to the sheer size of their operation.
Bonnie Plants has also added their own recycling facility and worked on improving internal reuse practices as part of the first phase of their Going Greener for You effort.