One of the challenges we have had over the years is the disposal of plastic mulch. We use the mulch in order to reduce the weeds growing between the rows. Fewer weeds equals fewer hours weeding, which means we don’t need to use chemicals to control the weeds. Mulch has the added benefit of warming the soil for heat loving plants.
Unfortunately, up until now, mulch has been made from plastic that do not decompose. Some mulch has been marketed as “degradable” and it does break down into tiny little pieces of plastic, but that is not the same as “biodegradable”. In order to be biodegradable, the material must reduce to a form that the earth can recognize as organic matter.
Finally we have found a source for Biodegradable mulch. It is more expensive than the mulch we are currently using, but the benefits outweigh the cost. Each year we must remove the old mulch from the fields and dispose of it in the landfill. Now, we will be able to allow the mulch to decompose in the field, reducing the impact of plastic going into the landfill, reducing the use of plastic on our farm and reducing the labour needed to remove the mulch at the end of he season. And let me tell you, removing the plastic is a horrid job that no one likes to do!
Another thing we are going to try this year is the use of biodegradable shopping bags. Of course we would rather that people bring their own canvas bags, but sometimes it doesn’t happen. Even I will forget to bring my bags with me when I go grocery shopping!
The new bags are expensive, 25 cents each over the 3 cents we currently pay for bags. That is a big difference. We will have to pass this cost on the the consumer in some way. Currently, we are thinking that the easiest way would be to offer the bio-bags at cost at the time of purchase (the way many big grocery stores ask if you would like bags and how many). Customers who do not want the bio-bags will get regular plastic and those customers who feel strongly about reducing their environmental impact will have the option of using the new bio-bags. Eventually we will switch to only bio-bags.
The Regina Farmer’s Market is going green too! It is a great project that some of the vendors and the market board have been working on over the winter. The market has received a grant from the government to promote sustainable practices at the market. Vendors will offer the same bio-bags to the customers at cost. RFM vendors will also have some really beautiful canvas shopping bags for sale. The canvas bags have the new RFM logo on them so supporters of the Farmer’s Market can show their commitment to Buying Local every time they use their RFM shopping bag!
So it is a year of out with the old and in with the new! We will continue to look for ways to reduce the waste generated on our farm as part of our overall sustainability plan.
