BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 5, 2024
One of the most readily available options for mulching and creating weed barriers around the home garden is cardboard. Placed at the bottom of a raised bed or lining a pathway, it can prevent unwanted plant growth and be the base of a new soil layer. But if you use treated cardboard packaging, it may contain per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The glossy layer that makes boxes resistant to water, grease and food is created with these “forever chemicals,” so called because they are difficult to break down in the environment and the human body.