Transition to a plastic free crop clip system: now or later?

The photo above clearly shows how much plastic is entangled in the compost.

Crop remainders often contain plastic

Many horticultural businesses are in the middle of the crop change or it has already been done. This also means that the used crop gets shredded and removed. These crop remainders often contain plastic. Dutch tomato growers have over two billion plastic clips and 864,000,000 meters of plastic rope per year. 

Growers pay a lot for the processing of the disposal

The European Parliament forbids single-use plastic, starting 2021. One of the three headlines from this new legislation is a stricter application of this principle, and the polluter has to pay. 

And that will happen in horticulture as well, is the expectation at Pellikaan. Cor Pellikaan: "At the moment, growers pay a lot for the processing of the disposal. These costs will go up a lot in the coming years. In 2027, legislation completely forbids it. Are growers going to wait, or are they going to transition to a crop clip system that's completely plastic free early on?"

Lower the CO2 footprint

With the eye on the future and the next generation, it's certainly important to lower the CO2 footprint as much as possible. Cor Pellikaan: "With the Qlipr System, the crop doesn't contain any rope and plastic, and it can be easily and cheaply shredded and composted immediately after the cultivation." 

Thanks to: Hortidaily