How to Recycle Plastic Plant Pots
Recycling protects natural resources and saves energy. Materials such as glass bottles and old newspapers are commonly recycled, but less frequently used items, such as the plastic pots that contain plants purchased at garden centers, can also be recycled. Plastic plant pots, like most plastic items, can be melted down and recycled to create a new product. Alternatively, finding a new use for them allows you to recycle without consuming additional energy at all. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Reuse the plastic plant pots yourself to recycle them. Use them for storing items that are too large to fall through the holes on the bottom, such as gardening tools or gardening gloves. Use them to grow your own plants from seeds until they are large enough to plant in the ground.
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Clean out your plant pots thoroughly, removing all dirt and debris. Recycling centers will not accept them unless they are clean.
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Talk with a manager at the lawn and garden center where you purchased the plants that came in the pots. Some lawn and garden centers will take back the plant pots and reuse them. Contact other lawn and garden centers in your area for more options.
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Turn the pot over and look at the recycling number on the bottom. All recyclable plastics are given a number from one to seven that groups them with other plastics they can be recycled with. Certain recycling centers only recycle specific numbers. Plant pots are typically number two, five or six plastic, but depending on where you live, they could be anything from one to seven.
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Ask recycling centers in your area if they accept plastic with the number that is on your plant pot. Find local recycling centers by using online resources, such as Earth911.com, to search for plastic recyclers in your area that accept the type of plastic that your pot is.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit planters image by Paula Gent from Fotolia.com
