How to Recycle Plastic Pots
If you're living "green", you're probably familiar with the motto: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without." Part of "green-ness" is recycling old items through re-purposing. Plastic pots are common articles that can be recycled for many uses, such as planters, seed starting pots, or used as sand toys for children. Finding ways to recycle plastic pots is imperative, because, according to Planet Green, many types of plastic pots, such as nursery pots, "are usually made from recycled plastic, and there's often no telling which types of plastic went into them, so facilities don't often take them back to recycle."
Things You'll Need
- Plastic pots
- Liquid dish detergent
- Garden hose
- Towel
- Soil
- Hand trowel or spoon
- Seeds or plant
- Metal skewers
Instructions
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Gardening Uses for Plastic Pots
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1
Squirt a shot of liquid dish detergent into the plastic pot. Use a garden hose to wash out the pot. Remove any debris by agitating the water and suds with your hand. Allow the pot to air-dry, or towel-dry it by rubbing the pot in a back and forth motion.
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2
Fill the pot halfway with garden soil. According to Western Gardeners, "Use the large black landscaping pots for growing veggies in containers."
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3
Dig a hole in the center of the soil in the pot with a hand trowel or spoon. Consult the plant's care information for the exact depth needed. If no information is available, dig a hole large enough to cover the plant's rootball or ½ inch deep for a seed.
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4
Place the plant's rootball or a seed in the hole, and loosely cover it with soil. Water the plant or seed when the soil is dry, but don't oversaturate the soil since this can cause mold.
Recycling Plastic Pots into Sand Toys
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5
Wash the plastic pot under water from a garden hose while squirting a small amount of liquid dish detergent into the pot and agitating it with your hand. Towel-dry with a back and forth motion, or allow the pot to air-dry.
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6
Poke multiple holes into the bottom of the plastic with a metal skewer to create a sieve toy for sand and beach play. Punch holes in a random pattern. Metal skewers may be purchased at discount and cooking supply stores.
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7
Use several pots to pack wet sand into to create sandcastles, or play with pots as containers for dry sand. Children have limitless imaginations, and a simple pot will find a plethora of uses when provided for sand play.
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Tips & Warnings
Some recycling programs will pick up plastic pots. Check the stipulations for your neighborhood's program.
Some gardening centers and nurseries will accept your used green gardening pots for reuse in their stores. Ask your local establishment about its policy on accepting plastic pots.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit A green plant in black pot. image by Saskia Massink from Fotolia.com
