“A glance at my plot reveals
compost bags, plant ties
and a plastic watering can.
Oh, and lots of plastic pots!”
W
hile plastic has
revolutionised so many
areas of our lives since it
burst on to the scene in
the 1950s, the sad truth is
that it is now a serious
environmental problem. And gardens aren’t
exempt from its menace. Take my small urban
plot. At a glance, I can see compost bags, plant
ties, plastic labels and a plastic watering can. Oh
yes, and plastic pots, lots of plastic pots. It turns
out this is fairly typical. As Gardeners’ World
uncovered in a TV programme last year, we get
through half a billion plastic pots and bedding
trays every year in the UK.
The problem is that plastic pots, while often
made using recycled material, can’t be included
in kerbside recycling collections. This is
because the recycling process relies on a light
that detects and sorts waste materials. The
carbon black pigment in the polypropylene
used to make plastic pots doesn’t ref lect the
light and so can’t be sorted.
Why not then, you might ask, change the
colour of pots? Because black pots produce the
healthiest plants and suit the rigours of the
production line. However, as of last autumn,
leading manufacturers and growers agreed to
trial neutral beige pots, which can be recycled.
So, as a starting point, there’s a pretty simple
way to be part of the solution – if your local
garden centre or supermarket sell plants in
beige rather than black pots, buy them. This
way we can send a message to manufacturers
that we, the consumers, take this issue seriously
and want recyclable pots.
While this addresses one, albeit significant,
area of the problems of plastic, there’s a broader
problem to solve. We know that going plastic-
free is hard work for the individual. It takes
thought, planning and commitment. However,
it’s not all doom and gloom. We gardeners are a
resourceful lot and, with a little extra effort, we
can make great strides in reducing plastic.REUSE YOUR OLD POTS
When it comes to plastic pots – and all other
plastic paraphernalia in the garden – reuse
prolongs their life and keeps them out of
landfill. Rather than throw pots and plastic
PHOTOGRAPHY: GAP PHOTOSlabels away, clean them up and use them again
and again. After all, one of plastic’s benefits
(and its drawback) is that it lasts.
Always store pots in a dark place – the sun
makes them brittle and unusable. Why not
create a ‘pot bank’ with neighbours or fellow
allotment holders, too? If you don’t need all
your pots for potting on seedlings or repotting,
chances are you’ll know a friend who does.
Your local school or gardening club might be
another port of call for pot donations. SEEK OUT TERRACOTTA
Terracotta pots not only look attractive, but
they have greater weight and are porous so
water can pass through and the soil can
breathe. Look out for frost resistant pots,
which don’t f lake or crack in the cold. Pot ‘feet’
also help in the battle against frost damage.
Terracotta is better suited to plants that
can cope with drier soil, but keep an eye on
moisture levels and water accordingly. If you
want to grow moisture-loving plants, like
astilbe and astrantia, in terracotta pots, line the
inside with old compost bags to help retain
moisture. Buying terracotta might be a moreFrom top: old
compost bags can be
upcycled into planters
for cucumbers;
terracotta pots
are ideal for reuse,
filling the gap until
recyclable plastic
pots become the normNEST (^) | GARDENS
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