Robert: Royal Canadian Legion introduces biodegradable poppies

The struggle to keep you poppy on your chest until Remembrance Day is real. Spotting those red, plastic flowers on the ground is a regular occurrence for the first week and a half of November. With 20 million poppies being distributed each year in Canada, all that plastic just blowing around in the wind can’t be great for the environment, right? Well the Royal Canadian Legion has come up with a solution.

For the first time ever, The Royal Canadian Legion is handing out biodegradable poppies as a way to curb waste.

“We really wanted to reduce our environmental footprint and create a way for people to still remember with the iconic symbol that they know and are used to—the beautiful red poppy—but also know that when they’re wearing one whether use it for the next year, or dispose of it, respectfully, that it will be biodegradable,” said Legion communications representative, Nujma Bond.

According to the Legion, the new poppies are made from a mixture of paper and cotton velvet.

The Legion admitted they still have a large quantity of plastic poppies and will continue to hand those out until making the switch to the biodegradable ones entirely. They will also begin using Biodegradable wreaths for Remembrance ceremonies, which are constructed of moss and bamboo.