Nowadays, there are many plant trays to choose from: reusable, single-use plastic or cardboard. What is the environmental impact of these types of packaging? Royal FloraHolland carried out independent research. What were the results?
Cardboard plant trays score better than single use plastic trays. Reusable plant trays are the most sustainable solution and have the least impact on the environment.
Independent research for plant trays
An independent agency has already looked at the impact of reusable and single use plastic trays. The research has now been widened to include four types of cardboard tray, which is representative of the large number of cardboard trays that are in use. We can then compare reusable, single-use cardboard and single-use plastic trays with each other. What are the additional features of this life-cycle analysis?
- It provides an insight into how the different types of plant trays score against environmental aspects such as climate change and water usage.
- It includes the whole life-cycle: from production to collection to use.
Four destinations were investigated: Arnhem, Berlin, Paris and London. - It was tested by an independent panel of experts.
The reusable tray is the most sustainable
The research clearly shows that the reusable tray is the most sustainable solution and has the least impact on the environment. Single-use cardboard plant trays score better than single-use plastic trays. The graphic below shows the results per country. The final score is the total score from all environmental aspects. The most important environmental aspects, climate change and water consumption are shown separately.