As reported in the Commercial Horticulture Magazine June/July 2010 issue

The NGIA’s plans to introduce Gardenwise, a plastic pot recycling scheme, in conjunction with recycling company 3R Group, have been put on hold.

“We’ve paused because we want to be sure we’re going down the right track,” says NGIA ceo, John Liddle.    Areas of concern were aired at a meeting in April with participants in pilot trials, including pot manufacturers, some of the box stores, media suppliers and retailers.

“The consensus is that the structure may be a little too convoluted, although it certainly does meet the objective of getting plastics out of the waste stream.   “It was felt it was too early in getting the industry tied into the processes involved.”

Of concern was “the costs burden through the supply chain and the ability to either pass these on or absorb them; preference for a kerbside collection option; and the long-term opportunities afford by biodegradable pots.  

“These concerns need to be addressed before we can go on further.  It’s a process which we have to work through stage by stage,” says John.

Since our return from the Christmas break, our primary focus has been to continue gathering support for Gardenwise from the supply sector Brand Owners – those suppliers who manufacture and or distribute plastic planter pots and bags. 

Gardenwise is a plastic recycling programme being developed for the NGIA as a result of the need to address plastic waste in the industry.

(Published in November 09 NGIA newsletter)

Our focus in October has been on the retail delivery of the Gardenwise programme.  

We spent some time in Christchurch at the beginning of the month and met up with the retail sector pilot group gaining some valuable insight and feedback from their participating customers.  As a result, we have undertaken development of a Gardenwise “Retailer Kit” - essentially an eye catching floor merchandiser which will contain the Gardenwise bags, point of sale material and an ‘in store’ crate for the customers to deposit their full Gardenwise bags. 

The follow up from the NGIA Conference has proved very successful for the Gardenwise team.  The theme of Graeme Norton’s Gardenwise presentation at the conference was ‘Beyond Talking – Taking Action’.  That call to action certainly seems to have been taken up and meetings continue with suppliers to the nursery and garden industry.

 NGIA Newsletter featuring Gardenwise

(published NGIA newsletter July ‘09)

Gardenwise preparations continued in June with two Hawkes Bay Garden Centres - Palmers Napier (Graeme Campbell) and Green Door Garden and Gifts in Havelock North (Gillian Thrumb) joining the retail sector pilot, these garden centres providing a local point of contact for Hastings based 3R Group, developers of the proposed Gardenwise programme.  Both Graeme and Gillian are delighted their garden centres will be participating and to be able to offer their customers a solution for recycling plastic pots purchased from their garden centres.

(published NGIA newsletter June ‘09)

May has been a very busy month in the development of Gardenwise. 

The first phase of the Gardenwise pilot will run from July through to September and will look at two distinct types of plastic generated by two sectors of the nursery and garden industry:  films in the commercial sector, and rigid plastics for the retail sector. 

(published NGIA newsletter May ‘09)

3R Group Ltd, developers of the proposed Gardenwise programme, are very pleased to announce that funding for various aspects of the project’s establishment has been secured from both the Shell Sustainability Fund and the Sustainable Farming Fund.