I was thinking of my Gardeners Detritus blog post on Friday when I noticed these recycled plant pots for sale in Tesco's.
I had popped in there for 4 bottles of Speckled Hen English Bitter.
It's good to see household waste plastic being recycled and made into plant pots.
I suppose it could be used to make all manner of things?
I would suggest litter bins because there are very few of them over here. I wonder where tourists in motor homes are supposed to take their rubbish? Don't say home like the people who don't provide them say on their signs.
When we go to the Algarve we always comment how there are litter bins on the beaches and everywhere and free to use and they don't expect you to take your rubbish home.
What would you like to see waste plastic made into?
The local garden centre here which is part of a nationwide franchise gives used pots away (free in other words) and encourages it with a large help yourself bin full as you walk out to the carpark. People are also allowed to add to it with their own used pots. I can't imagine ever having to buy a plastic plant pot. Litter bins are provided in all public areas along the coast but people still leave rubbish. We always took our rubbish home regardless of whether there was a bin or not and I still do. I empty my ruck sack after my outings! Plastic is recycled into many fabrics but throughout Europe there are not enough recycling factories who can repurpose plastic.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rachel for your comments. There are very few litter bins over here except for town centres and I did see a recycling plastic bin once on Banna beach in County Kerry. There are bins for dog waste but no litter bins. I see litter on beaches and the side of roads everywhere. Think it's time we moved away from plastic and went back to clay plant pots and wood seed trays...
ReplyDeleteI would like to see the waste plastic turned into pipes that can improve water supplies in desperate parts of Africa, Asia and South America. Currently around 773 million people in the world do not have proper access to safe water supplies and this year so far over 277,000 people have died from water borne diseases - most of them children.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant idea, really brilliant.👍
DeleteAbsolutely Tigger. Let's start a charity.
DeleteOur local civic amenity site (aka .. tip) has a plastic plant pot reuse section where people can leave unwanted plant pots for others to take away. Most of ours have come from there.
ReplyDeleteI have seen garden furniture, decking boards and garden fence panels all made from recycled plastic as an alternative to wood.
We have quite a few large litter bins all along our seafront promenade and in the town. They have had to be made seagull proof though so the flaps are very stiff and can be quite hard to push open by small children and older people,
A super idea. Is it possible?
ReplyDeleteThere is one garden centre here which takes old pots. Unfortunately it's so far away we only go there very rarely. Usually I put old pots beside the big bins and hope someone else uses them.
ReplyDeleteRecycling and making something useful with old plastic is what should be happening everywhere
Good to hear you have litter bins JayCee. Waste silage plastic is shipped abroad and made into garden furniture.
ReplyDeleteMy recycling centre have gave me hundreds of plastic plant pots and saved them going in the landfill site Linda. Wish we had your clay pots near us I think there should be much more research into biodegradable plastic that we can compost our food wrapping and other plastic.
ReplyDeleteHere, they take milk jugs and turn them into something that looks like wood, but it is not. A nature center used it for their decking at the observation sites and for their benches. The nice thing was that if they were defaced with graffiti, the damage could be removed with a hot iron. Do they have that there? https://plasticlumberyard.com/product-category/plastic-lumber/
ReplyDeleteGood to read Debby. Thanks for the link. Maintenance free products made from recycled materials. My self sufficiency hero John Seymour said land fill sites would be the mines of the future.
DeleteLitter bins of course and also more plant pots, soft landing mats for childrens playgrounds, seating and tables for picnic grounds, there are so many things already made of plastic that can also be made of recycled plastic, fencing too.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you River. Put litter bins everywhere and recycle what we can.
ReplyDelete