Coir pith pots to replace plastic bags in Forest Dept., nurseries

In a move to phase out plastic bags used in its nurseries, Forest Department has launched a pilot project to replace them with small pots made of coir pith, a biodegradable alternative.

According to Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, Climate Change and Forest Department, the coir pith alternative to plastic bags is made for the department at Pollachi in Coimbatore district. “We are making sincere efforts to completely eliminate plastic from our nurseries,” she tweeted.

Ms. Sahu told  The Hindu that the pilot project will be launched in one nursery in Chennai. The Department planned to take forward the project to other nurseries based on the output from the first nursery in Chennai.

The Forest Department has 218 nurseries across the State where saplings are raised for its own afforestation works in degraded forests and also to distribute saplings to the public to increase green cover in private lands under the Green Tamil Nadu Mission. At present, polythene bags are used to raise the saplings in these nurseries.

While saplings that are raised in plastic bags need to be planted after removing the bag, those raised in coir pith pots can be planted as it is since it is biodegradable material and also a potting medium. Coir pith also absorbs and stores water, which will in turn help saplings survive in dry conditions, said a Forest official. 

Sources with the Department said that Pollachi was chosen for the production of the alternative planting material as the region tops in the making of coir pith-based products. The Kerala Forest Department has already set up a unit at Pollachi to manufacture coir pith pots for Department-run nurseries in Kerala.