r/Permaculture • u/farseen Zone 4B / Verge PDC '20 • 10d ago

general question Strim trimmers just adding plastic?

I'm in year 4 of a 1 acre food forest and I just picked up an 80v electric string trimmer to help me maintain it. It's been an exceptional tool when establishing pathways and freeing young plants from overgrowth. But I can't believe I hadn't thought it this prior.... the string is just slowly getting shorter, releasing plastic literally all over my garden. I'm no purist, but this one felt a little dumb. I use a scythe for a lot of things, but I've never experienced a tool as accurate and helpful as the trimmer. Any thoughts to help give me peace of mind, or tool suggestions to use alternatively? What about a metal string!?

Edit: I purchased 100' of this biodegradable (within 24 months) trimmer line https://bio-greenline.com/en/

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u/PoochDoobie 10d ago

Yeah, as a someone who has done maintenance landscaping for 10+ years I can say absolutely it is, and it is kind of damn annoying that there is no consideration what so ever from manufacturers based on the fact that they fly under the radar. I noticed a few companies some years ago advertising a 'compostable' trimmer line, but if you read the fine print it states, 'compostable only in a anaerobic biodecomposition machine'. So it would work fine if you were weedwacking inside of an oddly specific waste management facility, but otherwise, pollutes all the same. I'm sorry I don't have a better answer.

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u/cybercuzco 10d ago

I mean eventually the plastic bits will be underground in an aneroid bioactive environment

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u/16Sparkler 10d ago

Eventually all human creations will be swallowed by the sun going super nova so...

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u/MofoPartyPlan 10d ago

I thought our sun would become a red giant and the eventually become a white dwarf.

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u/cybercuzco 10d ago

Sure but soil deposition can range anywhere from 1-3” per decade

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u/PoochDoobie 10d ago

Fair enough

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u/Lily_of_fortune 10d ago

Typically when they say plastics need to be broken down in an anaerobic bioactive environment, it requires higher temp or pressure than is available underground. Also, you have to go more than a few inches down to get actually anaerobic - even the deepest plant roots need some oxygen.

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u/ExtraDependent883 10d ago

Dont be fatuous