A36-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 15,2001 Official: State Seed Law Should Be Changed ANDY ANDREWS Editor HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) A lot has happened to the nationwide seed industry since Pennsylvania’s seed law was adopted back in the mid-19605. One official thinks it’s time to make some necessary changes. Adaptations to make required labeling uniform across the coun try will impact state growers, and they are important enough for the Pennsylvania seed industry “to start making some changes to the seed law,” noted Joe Garvey, seed program supervisor at the Pennsylvania Department of Ag riculture. Garvey spoke to about a dozen seed company representatives and other agri-industry special ists Tuesday morning at the PennAg Seed Council/ Pennsylvania Seedmen’s Associa tion annual meeting at the Colo nial Country Club, Harrisburg, Garvey believes it could be time to make some major over hauls to the law, since it has “been so long,” he said. Many sweeping changes are taking place throughout seed manufac turing and marketing laws throughout the country. “With your support,” he told the seed representatives at the meeting, “it will go a lot easier and faster.” Last July, amendments to the Federal Seed Act were proposed by the Uniform Labeling Task Force. The amendments made by the Association of American Seed Control Officials to the Recom mended Uniform State Seed Law (RUSSL) require a “SELL BY” date that permits a uniform peri- Forum: Plastics Industry Must Address Recycling Issues ANDY ANDREWS Editor HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) Pennsylvania horticulture industries use 12.7 million pounds of ag plastics annually. Unfortunately, according to in* dustry experts, the used plastics are a resource wasted, with 20 percent being illegally burned on site and more than 10 million pounds landfilled. Devising systems to recycle the use of plastics should fall on the shoulders of the manufacturing industry itself, noted several who spoke at the Landscape and Nursery Rigid Plastic Recycling Demonstration and Forum Wednesday at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg. More than two dozen ag plas tics manufacturers, ag and exten sion specialists, and agri-industry representatives attended the forum. One of the first steps to de termine the fate of ag plastics was taken this fall through a plastic waste audit conducted at several locations. This waste audit helps “quantify what we have,” said Tim Breneisen, recy cling specialist with the Lancas ter Solid Waste Management Au thority. “If we can re-use this stuff, we don’t have to dispose of it or openly burn it.” State laws prohibit the open burning of ag plastics. The audit was conducted at several locations, including Es benshade’s Greenhouse, River Valley Landscapes, Octoraro Na tive Plant Nursery, Roots Nurs ery, Stony Bridge Landscaping, and Hershey Nursery. The audit determined the amount of plas tics used and the cost of disposal. Several landscape company managers at the meeting noted od of sale of 15 months exclusive of the month of test that is con sistent with the FSA. That would benefit the consumer, the state control official, and the lawn seed industry alike. Proposed amendments to RUSSL were made in July in Portland, Ore. Many officials are reluctant to simply change the law because of the possible controversies that would result, noted several who spoke at the association meeting in Harrisburg. Simply opening the door and making major revi sions could spell potential disas ter. But “why take what has been decided as a group in Portland and then changing it?” noted Garvey. The working relationship state officials and industry continue to have should make adapting changes to the law a streamlined process. Vince Snyder, senior technical associate, regulatory affairs, the Scotts Company of Marysville, Ohio, spoke about the RUSSL amendments. The amendments address the sale of specified cool season grass seed for a 15-month period following the test date. Snyder hopes Pennsylvania can change its existing seed law, because labels will be affected. The amendments are only that proposed at this time and are not enforceable. The RUSSL decision, passed unanimously, is almost “a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” for officials and those who buy the seeds, Snyder noted. But rather than opening up the floodgates to controversy over they were looking for alternative disposal methods. Some agreed they would do it, even at a break even cost. Tipping fees average about $5O per ton of material. Those costs can add up in volume over the long term. John Roulston, of the Cana dian Polystyrene Recycling Asso ciation, Mississauga, Ontario, near Toronto, helps manage a program with 250 greenhouses, many from the northeast and north central U.S. and Canada. The association recycled polysty rene plug trays provided by growers in two Canadian prov inces and 32 U.S. states. The “cutoff’ size of operation is about five acres under green houses. “It’s difficult to get the quantities to make the program commercially viable with growers of less than five acres size,” Roul ston said. The program had enjoyed about 30-40 percent growth per year, but came to a virtual stand still prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The association, which opened in 1991, attracts about 5,000-6,000 people per year for tours, mostly school-age children. About 60 percent of the re cycled product is sold back to manufacturer of trays. Forty per cent is sold for molded parts, in cluding car parts, vacuum hose, and accessory business. Although about 15-20 percent of the product comes from the horticultural industry, a large percentage of the plastic received comes from curbside waste pro grams, the recording industry, graphics, and other areas. A challenge facing the associa tion, noted Roulston, is the prolif eration of alloyed-type plastics: Speakers at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Seedsmen’s Association in Harrisburg were, from left, Joe Garvey, seed program supervisor at Pennsylvania De partment of Agriculture; Vince Snyder, senior technical associate, regulatory affairs, the Scotts Company; Joe Butwin, ASTA vice president, and Stokes Seeds Inc. U.S. sales manager; and Fred Mohr, chair of the PennAg Seed Council. Photo by Andy Andrews, editor major changes to the existing state seed law, Snyder cautioned that more could get accomplished with less hassle if “you just let a little beam of light on the sections of the bill you want to change,” he said. That would involve offi cials and seed industry people working closely, controlling dis cussion of the changes. The key is to obtain “a restric tive title.” A title could go some thing like this, according to Snyder: ‘An act to amend Section John Anstino, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, demonstrates a plastic con tainer “granulator” at the Farm Show Complex Wednesday morning. Photo by Andy Andrews, editor The company deals with pure polystyrene, though sometimes the growers don’t separate out trays that are made of various “other” components. Other types of plastic the association doesn’t handle are mixed in with newer components in the plastics. The association has a Website, www.cpra—canada.com. “Pennsylvania has developed one of the most comprehensive recycling systems in the nation,” said Tom Boushel. Boushel noted that new “barrier technology” plastics are combined in with the collection of consumer plastics in traditional recycling programs, which poses a challenge. Still, new plants are having ""success in recycling plastics. He pointed to the" 1 PREI-Recycle 285.3 of the Pa. Seed Act of 1965 and amendments to add a new labeling requirement for specific cool-season grass seed and to amend Section 285.4(1) of the Pa. Seed Act of 1965 and amend ments to require the germination testing of specific cool-season grass seed within a 15-month pe riod.” To look at copies of the amendments, those interested can check out the Website, wwwjseedcontrol.org. America consumer plastics sys tem. It’s time to close the loop, Bou shel said, in Pennsylvania, and connect recyclers to manufactur ers and apply that system here and elsewhere. “The major barrier is cost,” he said. But the industry must come up with the answer. This is called “product stewardship,” Boushel noted. “To some manufacturers, that’s a dirty word,” said Bou shel. One major soft drink company, Boushel noted, had an attitude problem: they didn’t care what happened to the containers once they were used by the public, and if they could make another one twenty-fifth of a cent more by ig- Joe Butwin, American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) vice president, spoke about the con cerns of irradiation of mail and how mail-order seed companies will be affected. Many of them now must rely on UPS or PedEx to ensure the viability of seeds, which are destroyed by die an thrax-ridding irradiation under way at the U.S. Postal Service. ASTA moved to Alexandria, Va., and has a Website, www.am seed.org. noring recycling, so be it. Luckily, he noted, “that atti tude is changing everywhere.” The trend increases as larger corporations get bigger and in crease their market share. “In Europe, product steward ship is very much the case,” he said. “Germany, Holland, Eng land, France you can make whatever you want, but you have the responsibility that if you build this container, it gets recycled. You put in place a system that gets it recycled.” He pointed to the work of Volkswagen in “de-manufactur ing” and building these types of recycling plants. There is no dis cernible difference between the manufacturing and the recycling plants. ■*
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