Mulches Conserve Soil Moisture and Suppress Weeds Plastic mulch commonly is used in commercial vegetable production, but plastic disposal has negative environmental consequences. Wortman et al. (p. 148) studied the performance of alternatives, including
local sources contributing ≈25% (1 kg·ha −1 N per year) of the total inorganic N deposited to Tampa Bay. Wastewater Septic systems. Onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems, which include septic systems, serve ≈20% of U.S. homes, including 22% of
). In the United States, more than 80% of boiler ash is disposed of in landfills ( Vance, 1996 ). However, landfill disposal costs are increasing and it is becoming more difficult to acquire new sites for disposal ( Demeyer et al., 2001 ). It is possible
developing effective means of informing the public about ways and benefits of using sustainable practices in their gardens; 5) using construction materials and building techniques for easy reuse or responsible disposal at the end of the show. Through lectures
company, transported to the customer, and transplanted into the landscape. The shrub would reach a size of 1-m high and 1.4-m wide during a 40-year functional life, followed by shrub removal and disposal to compete the life cycle. This LCA study will focus
mulch covered ≈162,000 ha in the United States alone (P. Bergholtz, personal communication). Disadvantages of plastic mulches include their long-term persistence in the environment as well as the economic costs of yearly removal and disposal. These costs
disposal in landfills on the environment is important, particularly in large organizations. Instead of conventionally disposing of food wastes by sending it to a landfill, composting is a more sustainable alternative that is gaining popularity. Through a
≈750 million kilograms of petroleum-based plastic for single-use plant containers per year ( Schrader, 2013 ; Schrader et al., 2013 ; U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2014 ). Along with the large consumption of petroleum-based materials, disposal of
PE mulch, removal, and disposal imposes both financial and environmental problems. Removal and disposal of PE mulch can be costly ( Galinato and Walters, 2012 ; Galinato et al., 2012 ; Ghimire and Miles, 2016 ; Lucas et al., 2008 ) and was
requiring management and disposal. Sembera et al. (p. 205) investigated the use of wild taro waste as a feedstock in composting and evaluated the quality of the resulting compost. They found that wild taro propagules exposed to temperatures between 45 and 52