Plant nursery industry makes extensive use of non-biodegradable plastic pots (polypropylene, PP); in Italy, it is estimated an annual consumption of about 440 million PP pots which, at the end of their use, represent an expensive waste to be disposed of; therefore, the replacement of PP pot with similar products based on biodegradable materials, may reduce significantly the environmental impact of this sector. ECO-POT project aims at a cost-effectively production and successive field validation of biodegradable pots realized in different sizes; the mechanical properties of pots, i.e. resistance to lateral deformation and crushing, and rate of biodegradation should match needs of both operators and consumers. In particular, the biodegradation will be tested on plantable pot which are left intact on the root ball and planted into the field. In this case pots are designed to allow root to grow through the container walls and to decompose rapidly after being planted. In addition, the rate of biodegradation will be also tested on pots which are designed to be removed before final planting, thus speculating on the compostability of the used containers (test ISO UNI 14855-1) Different commercial biodegradable products, alone or mixed, will be tested. ECOPOT project involves different plant nursery farms located in Pistoia; up to 10,000 ornamental plants, placed in pots of different sizes, in different environments and belonging to 10 different species / varieties, will be tested. The most important expected results are: reduction in the consumption of non-renewable resources; economic benefits for nurseries gained in the international markets thanks to the adoption of recognizable low environmental impact trademarks (ECOLAB).
IGAN ECO-POT project
Altieri R;Esposito A;
2014
Abstract
Plant nursery industry makes extensive use of non-biodegradable plastic pots (polypropylene, PP); in Italy, it is estimated an annual consumption of about 440 million PP pots which, at the end of their use, represent an expensive waste to be disposed of; therefore, the replacement of PP pot with similar products based on biodegradable materials, may reduce significantly the environmental impact of this sector. ECO-POT project aims at a cost-effectively production and successive field validation of biodegradable pots realized in different sizes; the mechanical properties of pots, i.e. resistance to lateral deformation and crushing, and rate of biodegradation should match needs of both operators and consumers. In particular, the biodegradation will be tested on plantable pot which are left intact on the root ball and planted into the field. In this case pots are designed to allow root to grow through the container walls and to decompose rapidly after being planted. In addition, the rate of biodegradation will be also tested on pots which are designed to be removed before final planting, thus speculating on the compostability of the used containers (test ISO UNI 14855-1) Different commercial biodegradable products, alone or mixed, will be tested. ECOPOT project involves different plant nursery farms located in Pistoia; up to 10,000 ornamental plants, placed in pots of different sizes, in different environments and belonging to 10 different species / varieties, will be tested. The most important expected results are: reduction in the consumption of non-renewable resources; economic benefits for nurseries gained in the international markets thanks to the adoption of recognizable low environmental impact trademarks (ECOLAB).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
