The environmental impact of ‘oasis’.

If your church uses floral foam for flower arranging (‘oasis’), please consider the environmental impact:

1. FLORAL FOAM IS PLASTIC.

• Because of itscellular foam structure, it very easily crumbles into microscopic fragments, addingto the global problem of microplastics.

2. FLORAL FOAM IS NOT BIODEGRADABLE.

• Wherever itlands it will exist for an indefinite period of time. Eventually (overhundreds, thousands or millions of years) it will breakdown under otherinfluences such as light, friction, heat or interactions with other chemicalsin the environment.

3. WATER CONTAINING FLORAL FOAM SHOULD NEVER BEPOURED DOWN THE SINK OR DRAIN.

• Because floralfoam is used wet and wastewater typically discarded into the sink or drain, itis undoubtedly adding to the problem of microplastic contamination in aquaticenvironments. Wastewater poured down a street gutter becomes part of the stormwater system and will make its way to the nearest river before heading out tosea. Studies have shown that microplastics discarded into the in the seweragesystem via a buildings internal plumbing can bypass sewage treatment processesand be re-released into the sea as post-treatment wastewater or back tofarmland when the recovered sludge is used as fertiliser.

4. FLORAL FOAM HAS NO PLACE IN SUSTAINABLE FLORALDESIGN.

• At the heartof any sustainable business practice, the entire life-cycle of the materialsused must be considered. Concerns about contamination of the aquaticenvironments aside, sending bulky, mostly single-use, non-biodegradable plasticto landfill is the antithesis of sustainable environmental practice.

Harpley Church has been using chicken wire and bamboo as alternatives and the Revd Jen Denniston would be happy to talk to other parishes. Here are Kate Hurst and Beryl Blackburn at Shelsley Beauchamp creating an arrangement without using oasis.