Plant Pot Recycling

[Spruance]

There was an item on BBC News24 just now saying that the equivalent of 500million standard sized plant pots are produced in the UK every year.

It seems that Wyevale have come up with a scheme (i.e. moneyspinner!) whereby people can hand in their old pots for recycling. I wonder how many of these will actually just be washed and resold with a Wyevale plant in them?

Recycling plant pots? Tell me something new.

I am sure that I am not alone amongst gardeners in always recycling, i.e. re-using plant pots. Granted we have rather a lot of them but they are only outed when they are damaged, and even then they are rinsed and placed in the recycling bin.

What does everyone else do?

[Tig]

I saw that on the news, but I thought they are only doing it for a limited period? And some of the pots being put in for 'recyclying' I wanted, they were big enough for veggies!!

I am the same as you, re-use them until they are too damaged then recycle bin.

[Barbara]

i reuse mine too, the damaged ones i use as bits in the bottom of the ones i'm planting up.
after i've smashed them a bit more ;D

[Plocket]

I've not seen pots for recycling but I might have to visit our Wyevale tomorrow just in case there's anything left. I keep all my smashed pots in a container ready for use as crocks - I've never got enough!!

[Spruance]

Perhaps I should have stressed that they were talking about Plastic pots! ;D

[Weeterrier]

I do the same as the rest of you. Re-use till they are beyond it. Which doesn't happen often, except with the really flimsy ones.
For me, storage is a problem, because I have so many. I took home so many from the GC instead of putting them in the skip. I always did the planting up of baskets and tubs.

[Plocket]

Ah! I missed that Spruance! ;D

I keep small plastic plant pots for growing seeds, but to date I've been throwing the larger pots away.

[Amo]

I only seem to keep the ones under 1 litre size although I do have quite a few of the larger. All others go in the plastic recycling. I think there is a huge problem with the many different plastics used for making them, that's why they are not so popular for recall to nurseries and GC's.

My local Haskins I notice has a huge range of the perennials this year in coir pots with wooden lolly stick type labels. Fab idea but I'm sure it's only good up to a certain size.

I must also praise Beth Chatto nursery. Nearly all the plants I have bought from there this year (quite a few ) have come in newspaper pots in a little plastic bag. They are also carefully packaged in shredded office paper etc. Another great show of initiative.

[Plocket]

Any big pots I keep for growing beans and tomatoes in!

Good for Beth Chatto - it also means that your plants are fresh because otherwise the paper would have rotted!!

[Amo]

They may grow them in pots and re wrap them for selling on perhaps but it's still a great idea. And they seem to be straight sided rather than pot shaped, if you know what I mean.

I can't see us taking our own pots to the garden centers, buying a plant, taking it out of their pots and putting it in our own like we do with shopping though, can you?? ;D ;D

[Shrubrose]

I re-use as many of mine as I can for as long as I can too. Makes sense doesn't it! What I dont understand though is why there are such an enormous variety of sizes/diameters, I'd have thought sizes would have been standardised. Cant quite remember now why it annoys me so much, but it does!! Oh yes, just remembered - it's when I want to put one in a decorative pot - damn plastic ones never seem to fit properly. Or is it just me?

Great idea re the newspaper pots and shreddings Amo. Wish more would do it.

[Missredhead]

I re-use some for sowing seeds and then potting up, but I do seen to amass a large number of them so I put them on free-cycle and they seem to go quite quickly. ;D

[piggingardener]

I always retain my pots and use them for seed sowing, potting dahlias, tulips and so on and the flimsy ones I use when I give plants away to friends and family. I bought some stackable crates, the ones that collapse down when not in use, and stack pots in them according to size in the shed. Then when I need to use any, I just take the crate I need into the greenhouse or wherever I'm working. I also use broken terracotta ones in the bottom of my terracotta pots for drainage. I seem to have a few broken ones this year thanks to the frost.

[Plocket]

I've now got two left-over pots from my David Austin roses and am going to ask if they would like the pots back.

[Plocket]

HURRAH! David Austin do want the pots back to be re-used

[Amo]

That's great Plo!! Well done for asking them. The nursery that does the BIG shrubs and trees here has a £5 refund on their huge pots. They're the ones with handles on the sides. So that's worth doing too.

[carolann]

We are no allowed to put plant pots in the re-cycling here but I always re-use all mine and keep them for as long as possible. When the very flimsy ones brake I have to put them in with the normal rubbish? I'm sure that the guy from Wyevale said they where only doing it through till May, which seems a pity, why cant they do it all year? More GC should do it and the larges DIY stores like Focus and B&Q etc.