Plain Talk: Plastics in Beekeeping

Podcast: Honey Bee Obscura Podcast · Jim Tew

Opublikowano: 2026-10-22

Plastic is now so common in beekeeping that it's easy to forget there was a time when virtually everything in the bee yard and honey house was made from wood, metal, glass, or cloth. In this episode of Honey Bee Obscura, Dr. Jim Tew looks back at that transition. He remembers glass honey jars, heavy 60-pound storage tins, wired foundation, handmade beeswax queen cups, metal-screen veils, and the equipment that defined beekeeping before plastic became commonplace. And Jim readily admits why plastic won. Five-gallon buckets were easier to handle and clean. Plastic honey containers didn't shatter on c...