We garden for a plethora of purposes. You may want to connect with our natural world, build a beautiful yard, produce sustenance, provide habitat for plants and animals, sell native plants to restore degraded habitat, or perhaps see a leafcutter bee buzzing around some bee balm. Whatever the reason, gardening is a wonderful pastime that has been around since our hunter gatherer ancestors started planting crops around 12,000 years ago—gardening is in our DNA. 

In many ways today’s gardening practices look quite different from our ancestor’s primitive plots of crops— for one, they did not have access to plastic. According to a 2004 study from Penn State University, plant pots, flats, and cell packs use up to 320 million pounds of plastic per year. This number is likely even higher today because the home gardening industry’s average annual sales revenue has more than doubled since 2004. More sales means nurseries consume even more plastic. According to the USDA, in 2009, 4 billion container/plant units were produced by the container crop industry using a total of 1.66 billion pounds of plastic. This number doesn’t count all the other plastics used in the nursery industry, including the plastic sheets used to cover greenhouses (which often have to be replaced every year), plastic trays and containers, plastic markers used to identify the plants, plastic-coated pesticides and fertilizers, and so much more. It’s no exaggeration to say that in total nurseries and gardeners are using TON of plastic. ​

Many Asheville business owners have taken a hard look at their waste and come up with creative ways to reduce it. I spoke with Bill Jones, the founder and president of Carolina Native Nursery in Burnsville, about the steps he’s taken to reduce waste and prioritize the environment in his purchasing decisions. Though the plant nursery business has many specialized concerns, Bill’s experience and decision-making process can apply to many types of businesses. 

Looking for reuse options was their first strategy, and it helped them successfully reduce a huge portion of the nursery’s plastic waste AND save a ton of money.  For example, Carolina Native reuses their cold frame plastic covers, which are designed to be single use. By reusing these sheets for up to 3 years in a row, Carolina Native is not only reducing a huge portion of their plastic waste but saving a gargantuan sum of money. The nursery has 60 cold frames that require coverings. Last year they were able to reuse 40 covers, which cost $120 each. According to Bill, this practice has saved the nursery an estimated $38,000 over the years. If a nursery with 60 greenhouses can reuse their plastic covers for 3 years in a row for 12 years, they’ll spend $28,800 instead of $86,400. Moreover, for 60 greenhouses that are average sized (30ft wide by 96 ft long), a nursery would save approximately 1.3 million square feet of plastic from going to the landfill… that’s a lot of plastic! ​

By Livia Charles, Sustainability Coordinator at Asheville GreenWorks ​

We’re so excited for your waste reduction journey! 
If you need more support, reach out at [email protected] to let us know how we can help. ​

By Livia Charles, Sustainability Coordinator at Asheville GreenWorks ​

In the meantime... restaurants have enormous power in our struggle against the global waste crisis. I spoke with Peter Pollay who is the co-owner of Posana with his wife, Martha Pollay. He took me through Posana’s sustainability journey and what they’re doing now to reduce their plastic waste. ​

Is it more expensive to run your restaurant sustainably? 
This is a hard question because it’s not a yes or no answer. Definitely all of the compostable materials are more expensive. Compostable items are 2.5-3 times more than the cost of Styrofoam. A case of 1,000 compostable cups cost upwards of $110 [a case of 1,000 styrofoam cups costs about $38]. 

In other ways sustainable practices can cost more up front but save money down the line. The cost of LEDs have come down and Duke Energy now provides rebates to subsidize the cost. [LEDs use 75 percent less energy than incandescent lighting, so they last longer, saving the material and energy, as well as serious cost saving—up to $300 per year.] LEDs don’t heat up the room, so you don’t need to use as much AC, saving fossil fuels and money. ​

... 

*For any restaurants using compostable to-go items/compostable plastics of any kind: Make sure you are ALSO providing a place where that material can go— compostable plastics must go to an industrial-level composting facility. They cannot be recycled and when they’re put in the landfill they emit methane. Danny’s Dumpster is a great local option! ​

By Livia Charles, Sustainability Coordinator at Asheville GreenWorks ​

By Livia Charles, Sustainability Coordinator at Asheville GreenWorks 

By Livia Charles, Sustainability Coordinator at Asheville GreenWorks 

Picture yourself at the grocery store. Imagine looking around at all the packaging. Every product you want or need is contained in plastic films, bottles, tubs. Even the produce section is full of things like organic cucumbers wrapped in gleaming seals of unrecyclable plastic. 

Have you ever tossed something into the recycling bin hoping it was, in fact, recyclable? Perhaps you hoped putting something you thought should be recyclable in the bin would magically make it so. You wouldn’t be alone; it’s called “aspirational recycling,” and it’s a natural response to the information we’ve been given. 

For years, many good-intentioned and eco-minded people have become complacent in their plastic consumption, because they were assured plastic would be responsibly recycled to its next useful life. Growing awareness of the world's significant plastic problem--think the Pacific Garbage Patch, single-use plastics, and microplastics--has shattered that complacency for anyone paying attention. In recent years, with China no longer accepting the majority of the world's plastic waste, Americans have found themselves (or more to the point, our planet) quite literally choking on plastics. 


A Lifestyle Shift

Cue the rise of the zero-waste movement. The concept is nothing new (respect for our trusty food co-op and farmers markets), but its rise to popularity in recent years may feel to some like the latest millennial trend. Well, some trends last. As consumers become more educated about the effects of plastic on our lives, the zero-waste “trend” is becoming a true lifestyle shift. Sure, it’s chic to show off your reusable canvas shopping bags and instagrammable beeswax wrap, but there is a clear and growing desire by consumers to be better and do better by our planet.
Options for waste-free shopping are becoming more accessible in response to the plastic and packaging piling up across our planet. Asheville has long been home to bulk food stalwarts like the French Broad Food Co-Op and the former Greenlife (now Whole Foods). Today, smaller independent shops and specialized refilleries are expanding options for package-free purchasing of everything from cleaning products to toothpaste tabs and facial serums.
Many of these shops aim for zero waste with their refill sales and stock goods from small eco-minded manufacturers with their own zero-waste goals. Nearly all these places welcome customers to bring their own container (BYOC) or have refillable storage items available for purchase. Many also feature sustainably, ethically, and locally made goods.
Read on to learn about some local Asheville shops making it easier to reduce your plastic footprint. Website links for each shop are provided; be sure to visit their pages for the most up-to-date information on pricing and availability.

Don’t have time to read the whole article? Check out this chart for the quick down-low on some popular Asheville refill stations:

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Maggie has lived in Asheville for five years and is a member of the City's Sustainability Advisory Committee on Energy and the Environment (SACEE). With SACEE, Maggie currently focuses on waste reduction working with both Food Waste Solutions and the Plastics Reduction Task Force. ​

Thank you for participating in Mind Your Plastic May! We hope that the information shared here will inspire you to reduce plastic in your life where you can. Please consider following us on social media to stay up to date with waste reduction content like this, and more about GreenWorks' programming.

By Ghia Ulrey

Choosing the perfect gift can be a challenging task. Making sure the gift is environmentally-conscious and plastic-free may seem even more challenging. In this post, we hope to inspire you to give thoughtful, fantastic gifts while decreasing your overall environmental impact.

Read below to explore the many ways to give a gift!

1. Give the gift of experience: Most people have a hobby they enjoy, whether it’s going to concerts, making art, or playing sports. This year, instead of buying them another paintbrush or basketball, look for tickets to an event or a class to learn a new skill. Make it something you can do together because they are more likely to remember the experience you’ve facilitated than an item that you bought. 
   
   
2. Make it edible: The way to a person’s heart is through their stomach. Prepare a favorite dish or treat and bring it over in a reusable container to avoid plastic packaging. If you’re not the best cook, purchase a gift card to their favorite restaurant, bar, coffee shop, etc. Try to avoid the plastic card with an email gift card or a paper one if the shop provides. You could also pick up something tasty from a local shop. Ask in advance if they would be willing to put it into your own container so you can be prepared. If not, ask for it on their dine-in dishes and transfer it to your own container.
   
   During the time of COVID-19, most businesses are not accepting reusables. Don’t let this stop you from supporting your local businesses! Reducing our plastic waste is important, but in the scheme of things supporting our local community makes a big impact, too. 
   
   
3. Be intentional and purchase quality: Ever received a gift you didn’t want? What happened to it? Instead of getting someone a gift that is going to end up in a thrift store or the landfill, talk to your friend or family member about what they really need or want. When you find the perfect gift but realize it is made from plastic, search the internet for the same gift made with better quality materials (i.e. glass, stainless steel, wood). If you’re buying clothes, opt for natural fibers like cotton, wool, and silk. Polyester, acrylic, nylon, and more are synthetic fibers that shed microplastics when washed. 
   
   
4. Alternative wrapping: Most wrapping paper can’t be recycled due to dyes, lamination, or other additives. Check with your local recycling organization before throwing it in your bin. In Buncombe County, Curbie does not accept wrapping paper.
   
   Instead, you could try these low-waste alternatives: brown paper, newspaper, and fabric. If these are too plain, decorate them yourself with paints or stamps! Swap your scotch tape for paper tape or avoid tape completely by using the furoshiki method, a Japanese wrapping technique that uses only fabric to elegantly wrap a gift. Skip bows and ribbons for a sprig of their favorite herb or a flower. The receiver will hopefully take a bit longer to cherish your thoughtfulness before getting to what is inside. 

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Ghia Ulrey lives a low waste life with her rescue pup, Yama. She cares about plastic reduction because she really wants to go to the beach and not have to collect trash. With her TRUE Advisor certification, she hopes she can help businesses start zero waste programs. ​