Why is Coir Bad?
Coir as a waste product:
Coir is a waste product so immediately people assume that using it has very little environmental impact. But the Coco Coir trade sucks native soil dry. All plants take nutrients from the soils, so do coconuts. Since all the Coir is shipped to us it can’t be used locally to replenish the soil, resulting in more fertiliser being needed, which has its own added environmental impact. Yes coconuts are renewable– new trees bear fruit in 6-10 years but the soil being used for growing them is not renewable if the majority of organic matter is shipped all around the world to us.
Processing Coir Pith
Processing Coir pith requires more than just physically separating the fiber. Once the Coir is freed from the Coir fiber it goes through a maturation process to stabilize the product and this can take up to 6 months. During this process salt, tannins, and phenolic compounds are removed. It is buffered, washed and calcium nitrate is added to displace sodium and balance the pH. This process requires input chemicals and it produces waste products.
Water usage in the processing of Coir:
Processing Coir requires a significant amount of water and in some parts of India water is already in short supply. It takes 300 to 600 litres of water to wash one cubic meter of Coir pith. The result is polluted water that impacts the environment. Runoff water from cleaning the coco pith contains levels of sodium, potassium, and physical contaminants that can have a harmful affect on surface water, groundwater, and soil. Coconut trees are capable of ‘drinking’ sea water and this is why the Coir is so full of salt.
Worker Health
The whole process is very dusty and creates an unhealthy environment. Workers in Coir pith factories often work six-day weeks with multiple shifts. We don’t normally think of this as a factor in sustainability, but it is.
A study on this concluded that pulmonary function abnormalities occur in workers at Coir processing plants. In North America and Europe it would be illegal to work under such conditions.
Shipping Coir to the U.K.
It is completely indefensible to justify shipping Coir halfway round the world.
Sri Lanka to the U.K. via the Suez Canal 2.9 tonnes of CO2 produced per container
Sri Lanka to the U.K. via Cape Town 4.6 tonnes of CO2 produced per container
2.9 tonnes of CO2 takes 290 average sized trees 1 year to absorb
4.6 tonnes of CO2 takes 460 average sized trees 1 year to absorb
Conclusion: Coco Coir is Not Sustainable
Many websites claim that Coir is sustainable since it is a waste product. Packages of Coir even have the word on their label, telling customers they are eco-friendly. It is simply not true.
The only way forward is to purchase good quality Peat-Free products that clearly state that they are also Coir-Free.