If you're looking to stock up on Christmas decorations for next year, you may be surprised to hear that the dumpster behind your local retail stores could have just what you need.
While it's undoubtedly nice to snag items for free, it's heartbreaking to know how much waste stores create. One passerby shared their find at a nursery the day after Christmas, which evoked sadness and frustration among commenters.
What's happening?
A Redditor shared a photo of a compost bin full of beautiful red and yellow poinsettias that the nursery apparently couldn't sell in time for the holiday. The positive is that the flowers will return to the dirt instead of piling up in a landfill, but they still required tons of resources to grow, only to go unsold.
"Poinsettias last a long time if you take care of them. This is a shame," one commenter said.
"Working in a plant nursery hurt my soul. We smuggled out and gave away as many 'rubbish' plants as we could, but the amount of waste was just upsetting," another shared.
Sadly, the plants could've had second lives elsewhere, as one user explained: "The local nursery where I lived last used to take these seasonal extras to all the nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and homeless shelters in the area for free instead of throwing them away. This is sad and wasteful."
Why do the unwanted poinsettias matter?
As some Redditors pointed out, the flowers could've been given away to employees, friends, or local businesses instead of being tossed into the compost bin. While composting is still exponentially better than throwing things away, repurposing something that took energy and labor to grow is a step up.
Once the compost is picked up from the nursery, it will likely be transported to an industrial composting facility designed to handle large amounts of organic waste. They're much more environmentally friendly than landfills since they reduce waste and recycle organic materials, but they also have several downsides.
These facilities may unknowingly accept nonbiodegradable materials, contaminating the compost and affecting soil quality. Industrial composting can also have negative environmental impacts, such as polluting local water sources and attracting animals that carry diseases. The release of bioaerosols during the composting process may also contribute to poor air quality, which can cause lung problems for workers and others near the facility.
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Are nurseries doing anything about this?
Since the original poster didn't say where they found the composted poinsettias, The Cool Down can't comment on what that nursery is doing to keep plants out of the compost bin. However, as another former nursery worker shared in the comments on the Reddit post, some nurseries may choose to discount plants that aren't selling well. And wholesale or retail nurseries that grow their own plants may repurpose unsold plants for future use, as Nursery Management explained.
What's being done about plant waste more broadly?
Thankfully, many retailers are starting to address plant and food waste. For instance, the online grocer Misfits Market sells "ugly" produce (think blemished apples or oddly shaped peppers), which saves customers money and keeps food out of landfills. Composting programs are also becoming more popular at retail stores, which makes our planet a little greener.
We can do our part at home by composting food scraps and plants and getting creative with leftovers. If you have unwanted plants, you can always donate them to local garden centers, friends, or family to give them new lives.
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