The business of Palm Sunday

Oh, brother, now quality control has morphed into "eco."

This year, more than 2,130 congregations across the USA, including Catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists and Presbyterians, will use "eco-palms" that are harvested in a more environmentally friendly way...What makes the eco-palms different is the way that they are harvested, says RaeLynn Jones Loss, a research specialist at the University of Minnesota... More than 50% of the palms are wasted by traditional methods, Jones Loss says. Harvesters in the eco-palm program are trained to be more selective. They cut only the best fronds, which results in only 5% to 10% waste. -- USA Today

It's kind of hard to think about palm waste here (or in most places that I've lived). What you don't cut just gets wasted anyway. There are palm branches strewn all over the place -- all year long. They contribute to the humus. And that waste is essential to the environment.