There’s been a lot in the news lately about PFAS (per and polyfleuroalkyl substances)–with more information coming out regarding PFAS contamination in our water supply and soil, it is something to consider when we are putting things into our garden! In this video, we discuss some of the concerns we have with PFAS in regards to the garden.
Here are some of the things I consider when looking at potential PFAS contamination in the garden:
-Compost/soils: studies have found that nearly all composts are contaminated with PFAS. The lowest contamination occurs in compost made from plant materials. Avoid composts made with biosludge/biosolids. When buying bagged soils, look for the OMRI organic certification, which ensures the soil isn’t made with biosolids.
-pesticides/herbicides/fertilizers stored in fluorinated HDPE
-potential contamination from recycled paper products
SOURCES:
Indications of Toxic PFAS “Forever Chemicals” Found in Toilet Paper — Report
https://pfasproject.com/tag/paper-mills/
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.0c03411
https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/epa-releases-data-leaching-pfas-fluorinated-packaging
https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/pfas-packaging
https://content.sierraclub.org/grassrootsnetwork/team-news/2021/01/pfas-chemicals-found-compost
19 Comments
Appreciate the info! I actually had not heard of PFAS
Great info. Thank you for sharing your concerns. I actually saw a news story on this topic last night. Something to definitely be aware of.
Super interesting… thanks for doing all this research! Chemicals have definitely been top of my mind in my farming and I've been adjusting as I go… not quite the same as PFAS, but I always give a HUGE caution when people suggest using straw as mulch because so many of the fields are sprayed with roundup etc…, in my opinion: leaves are probably the safest mulch someone can use. Definitely agree with avoiding manure! I worked on farms growing up… and people don't realize that what the animals eat greatly impacts what's in the manure – and most manure is NOT coming from organic, no-chemical farms. I definitely used the cardboard method earlier on in my no-dig journey, but have moved towards solarizing an area and then top-dressing with 2 inches of compost and broad forking it in. But now I'm wondering what those silage tarps are made with. 🤔 Regardless, recent soil tests show that all my beds are now at optimum levels of nutrients so I'm now moving into maintaining them with cover crops and the small amounts of compost I can make on my own property, which I'm pretty happy about!
You mentioned containers that hold fertilizer may have pfas, what about the packaging soil, or compost are packaged in?
You also mentioned be mindful of cardboard for smothering as a no dig option. Would that include plastic? Or like landscape fabric? I don’t have leaves in my yard mainly straw and that just kills everything and worsens our clay soil. What would be another option for no dig and no chemicals to clear an area?
Thanks🌞
Thanks for sharing! What are your thoughts on the plastics that make up drip irrigation? I’ve always worried about drip tape and wondered if there’s a safer option that’s still as water conscious
Great information, thank you!! I’ve had this on my list to do research since I heard you talking about it 😊
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Thanks for info I've been using cardboard but can easily switch to leaves which I have in abundance and been using with cardboard.
Thank you for sharing! I was just about to use cardboard but am now rethinking. I wonder if paper bags are the same probably/possibly?
How about plastic propagation containers from Epic Gardening? Like those 6 and 4 cells very sturdy containers? It doesn't show on the web if it's saved from PFAS, but I saw on your previous videos you used them.
I read an article awhile back. PFAs were found in wild and aquatic life in WI, MI, ME and FL where tested. Some major fertilizer companies should be labeling that the use human sewage instead of giving it a pretty name. Everything from oil change businesses to salons add to that sludge.
There is no way to get around it. I’m waiting to see what all the fire retardant used in CA and the fallout over from the smoke that drifts over all states will cause. Unless you have a bio dome there’s no escaping human damage.
It’s been a big deal here in WI as fire fighters use the foam containing PFAs in practice at the airport and the runoff.
In this day and age, it’s very hard to really garden organically. My parents did, but we were also a dairy farm. My dad was way ahead of his time when it came to what the animals ate and use of chemicals. He knew what ever he used, it ended up in the food chain. That wasn’t acceptable to him so we did a lot of things ‘ the hard way’ in order to prevent leaching chemicals into the groundwater and soil. Thank you for this reminder. Very informative.
Thanks for addressing this emerging issue. 👍
When I was working with radioactive materials in my daily career we used the safety principle of keeping exposure As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) – as you say, when talking about a family of contaminants that we are already seeing in widespread use, the best thing to do is to take what reasonable steps you can! For those of your viewers who can't switch entirely, limiting the amount of time things are stored in plastic containers and keeping the containers cool will minimize leaching. Chemicals at a higher or lower pH will leach more than more dilute ones. It's more important to monitor anything that's going to directly go into your soil than anything you'll be removing or that only transiently touches your soil – water hoses are likely the lowest source of contamination whereas additives to your soil are the biggest. (The leaching thing applies to hoses too, if you store them dry and cool, you will have less of anything leaching into water.) Your breakdown of contamination sources was excellent, just wanted to share some QA chemistry thoughts!
What happens when you run it through a worm bin
OMG I am so glad I found you! My husband and I are working on starting a regenerative farm and I see sooooo many people suggesting the use of municipal compost. I haven't personally done a lot of research on it yet, but with all of the literal TONS of waste that gets dropped off to these sites every single day without close monitoring, it makes sense that there would be quite a few contaminants. My mind has always gone to chemically treated wood, plastic contamination (I've generally seen A LOT of shredded plastic bags), and biocide residues, but for some reason I never thought about PFAS. Thank you so much for providing references on this and highlighting the dangers of using municipal compost in gardens!
This was SO educational, I had no idea paper products could be a source of PFAS and was completely guilty of throwing paper products in the compost and garden. A-mazing video, thank you for sharing!
So depressing 😭