Siep Dijkstra has been in the twine business for over forty years. At Lankhorst Yarns he is responsible for the horticultural sector. The company supplies the compostable horticultural twine Elite® Bio Twine, made from bio-material PLA (polylactic acid, in this case plant sugars). According to Dijkstra, this organic material is the future. However, it has become clear that the mere environmental argument is not sufficient to entice growers. "There must also be a financial stimulus. We’re pretty much waiting for government policy to kindle this."
Lankhorst Yarns started the development of the compostable rope Elite® Bio Twine in 2005. What makes the product unique in addition to its biodegradability, is the way it’s produced. The twine is made in the same way as 'ordinary' polypropylene twine. "You can’t tell the difference," says Dijkstra. Conversely, it takes the Elite® Bio Twine about 5 to 8 weeks to degrade to an unrecognisable, humus-like substance, depending on circumstances.
Elite® Bio Twine has been on the market since 2009 and is distributed worldwide. In the near future there will be more PLA twine on the market, but for now, competition mainly consists of traditional natural fibres. "Cotton Viscose, or jute viscose and sometimes pure jute or sisal. Also, there is an alternative in the shape of a kind of paper rope with a viscose core wire. But all of these products have several drawbacks," says Dijkstra. "Even our product still needs some tweaking. If the twine is wrapped around the hook, the compostable twine is more sensitive than conventional twine. We’re still working on that."
Wrapping the twine is done at Van den Wijngaart.
Stunted growth
Since its introduction, sales of bio-twine are growing, but things could be better, especially in Dutch horticulture. "If a grower doesn’t get some monetary benefit, he won’t pay extra for it," says Dijkstra, and given the current conditions in the sector he understands that only too well. If growers do opt for eco-friendly material, there is usually some other factor involved. "In some countries, the processing of plastic waste is much more expensive than bio-waste. And in Australia, the transportation of plastic waste is costly due to long distances. In the Netherlands we don’t have these issues and regulations. There is as yet no policy in place. So we have to wait for stimulation from the marketing side, or from the government."