# Proper disposal of aquatic plants, reponsibility and education



## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Please use this thread as a discussion into the proper disposal of aquatic plants. My intention is to use this as a way of learning to protect our environment and ultimately to protect our freedom to grow and exchange interesting plants. To often we are faced with plants being black listed in some state or country. Frequently we hear of fish and plants that escaped into the wild and now are chocking out native species, changing dynamics and in some cases destroying natural ecosystems. Often the fault is the result of hobbyist irresponsibility but more often it is simply, I believe, a lack of education as to how we were the cause of a problem and a lack of tools to prevent it.

Following those ideas, let's use this thread to teach ourselves and to educate others. What are the techniques and steps we should take? As a starting point (but certainly not limited to) please consider the following questions:

How do we prevent our hobby from escaping into the natural environment?
How do we be responsible hobbyists?
What techniques are sufficient to destroy unwanted plants and trimmings?
What about water change water? Is running the hose to the garden really OK?
How can we encourage and educate hobbyists and LFS/plant suppliers in order to make sure this idea become common knowledge?
How can we as dedicated and caring hobbyists educate new people, LFS and suppliers?
Ultimately, I feel we need to make sure businesses don't feel like they will lose revenue (but will look better by being responsible) and the hobbyists won't feel like they cannot keep plants. The idea is to keep our freedom by ensuring that new situations do not arise and force heavier government regulation, state black-listing, etc. In that regard, this is a subject that is in all our best interest.
Thanks for your time. I look forward to a healthy and informative discussion. Please though, try to keep the thread somewhat to topic as it would be great to start with a single place to start assimilating this information.


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## freydo (Jan 7, 2006)

i haven't thought much about the water that i siphon out of the tank, which i will. as for the plants that i trim out, i always leave the trimmings to sit in a bucket to dry out, which is usually a few days or when i remember why i have a bucket full of useless potpourri. from there i dispose of it with the rest of my trash.

but once i get things setup properly, i will be taking my trimmings to the pet store i purchase my plants from for store credit. this way no plants are introduced into the wild by me, and i make some money out of the deal.

i will wait for more posts to comment further.

btw: great thread!


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Here is an interesting site I was told about through my post on the APD.

http://habitattitude.net/

It is still a bit under construction and I don't agree with everything (I also have not had the opportunity to look through it all yet) but it is a start. They seem to offer suggestion and support for clubs and hobbyist groups.

I disagree that sealing plants in bags and throwing in the trash is safe solution though. It is better than dumping in a stream but there is still potential for issue.

Come one folks, let's hear your thoughts


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Most of my unwanted trimmings, excess floaters end up in my compost bin after sitting in the house in the collection container for a few days. The compost will eventually be used around my yard when its well decomposed. A bit ends up going down the garbage disposal, especially the salvinia that likes to stick to my arms. When I can, I do give my nice trimmings/excess plants to another hobbyist.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Good topic, Dennis. I am guilty of occasionally tossing out non-natives before their time is up, so to speak. But generally, I strive not to do that. Non native trimmings, etc, usually end up in the household garbage balled up with all the house junk, usually in a double plastic bag type set up. If plants are useable, I try to find a 'home' for them, either via trade-in at the lfs, or by placing an ad in the 'for sale' forum for someone to hopefully enjoy.

As far as excess water from water changes, I typically siphon out my water into 5 gal buckets which them are dumped on house plants or garden plants. I can't see any ecologically negative impact from this.

Here in Florida, where everything tropical seems to grow whether it's native or not, non-native inavasions are a real issue. From Hydrilla choked waterways to a variety of non-native fish, especially in S. Florida, it's definitely something all folks in the hobby should be aware of, imo.


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

Currently I try to trade or sell off as many unused trimmings or old plants as possible, whatever is left goes into my trash or minced and in the toilet with my waste water from water changes, some water goes to houseplants but most down the toilet. At least that water is treated before going back to streams. To be honest I haven't really given this issue a whole lot of thought, I'm pretty sure most of the plants that go into my trash die before they make it out of the house. The can doesn't fill up very fast so it sits for a couple days and the plants usually look pretty dry and dead before making it out to the dumpster outside. Its probably enough but if I hear otherwise I'll be sure to change my ways.


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## strange_screams (Apr 10, 2005)

*plant control in texas*

here are some links my dad sent me after collecting some plants at a local private fishing pond.

We determined the collected species to be Egeria,Hydrilla,Eelgrass, and moneywort (had to look that up in our plant finder, wasn't on there lists)

of the four only one (eelgrass) is native to texas, and one (hydrilla) is illegal to posses or transport in the state of texas

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/index.htm
(hydrilla has a video about its invasivness and control methods)

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/GiantSalvinia/index.html
(also has a video on the salvinia secies)

its quite evident that someone placed these plants there, probably thinking that it would provide more places for fish to hide. moneywort is not listed in the aquaplant link and i've never seen it in a pond or lake before. before i even collected them i recognized hydrilla as an invasive non-native species but didnt know what it was called.

The introduction of these plants has caused a lot of issues in this pond IMO. I have not caught one single fish, I've lost every lure and most of my hooks that I've thrown out, and there is a lot of decaying plant matter, far more then ussual.

In the sylvaina vedio the gentelamn states that he has kept it in a sealed plastic bag for over 18 months still alive, wikth no introduction of co2 oxygen or nutrients , doing nothing more then feeding off the dieing plant matter and growing.


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## JeremyAZ (Feb 16, 2007)

This is something that has never crossed my mind as far as plants go. Living in the middle of the desert you tend not to think about. I throw my trimmings in the trash with little thought. Good reads and something to think about however not a big concern in my area.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

I've always been concerned about getting pieces of duckweed or riccia washed down the drain and what it could do to local water ways. Fortunately, I've found a good way to properly dispose of duckweed - pour holy water on it. It catches fire instantly and gets sent back to Hell...


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## oblongshrimp (Aug 8, 2006)

doesn't all water that goes down the drains in your house gets treated and filtered before going back to natural waterways?


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## Jiva (Feb 9, 2007)

*How responsible Do you realy want to be.*

Thanks... this is a very good subject to bring up. Invasive species is a very serious problem and is a form of pollution. Pollution of all kinds (air/land/water) in our modern age is threatening the overall survival of humans. So what is some good effective ways to lessen or at least minimize the release of invasive species?

Water disposal should be done with UV, then potassium permanganate and finally boiled (bleach may also help) before going any place after being removed from your set up.
Plant material of any kind should be collected and allowed to dry. Then burned or broken down in an acid (which must be neutralized before disposal). A good alternative is to use in a compost system but this will not provide 100% effectiveness unless your compost system is managed correctly.
Reality however... since we are dealing with human beings. We can pass any law we want, we can discuss all we want, we can plain ole follow good and proper responsible practices..... Statistically a small few of the millions (tens of millions globally) will not follow or practice what is required. This is all it takes to cause a very serious problem.

Richard JIVA Wickboldt


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

I leave my unwanted plants in a bowl to dry.....until I get to them. This can be as little as a week or up to a month. Anything that was once living probably isn't now.

During the summer months I save the dried clippings and use them to start fires for outdoor cooking, light, etc.


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## Marauder (Apr 17, 2006)

My trimmings go into a 20g snail tank. It's a mess, but my Apple snails love it! They're natures garbage disposal. I can't even keep Duckweed in that tank.


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