This mountain of pots was the result of MOBOT’s 1998 recycling program
Do you ever wonder what happens to all those plastic pots we put in the trash or enthusiastically send to the recycling center after installing the plants contained in them? Well, sadly not much. But the Missouri Botanical Garden has a highly successful recycling program that prompts a visit from Joe and Patti.
In this episode we learn about how MOBOT, as it is called, brings plastic pot recycling full circle from the waste that is created as we work to beautify the landscape. This brain-child of Dr. Steven Cline began about 12 years ago as he pondered what to do about the mountain of empty pots piling up in his garage.
Since there is no industry standard as to size or even the material garden containers are made from, it is a challenge to recycle them. But MOBOT found a way to keep a tremendous amount of this waste out of the St. Louis landfill. Through their efforts 130,000 pounds of horticultural waste was kept out of the landfill in 2009, alone. Steve tells us that the amount of gardening plastic coming into the U.S. each year would fill a baseball stadium. And none of it is biodegradable. But there are a number of options on the horizon.
Compostable pots are the way to go
MOBOT has plastic lumber made from the pots they recycle and Patti and Joe pay a visit the Plastic Lumber Company for a first-hand look at the process. William Evans of Fertil was recently with me at Habersham Gardens in Atlanta explaining that forward thinking companies are creating biodegradable and compostable containers that can be planted directly into the garden or can be discarded in your compost bin. Even if you don’t compost they will break down in the landfill and that means you are doing something good for the planet!
And speaking of recycling, Chef Nathan gives us some great tips and a delicious recipe for recycling items from your refrigerator. So don’t throw out those slightly ‘past their prime’ veggies, contain those chicken bones and come see what he cooks up.
For more information
Purdue Study says consumers are willing to pay a bit more
CowPots plantable pots
Fertil biodegradable pots
About GGWTV
Growing A Greener World is a national gardening series on Public Television that features organic gardening, green living and farm to table cooking. Each episode focuses on compelling and inspirational people making a difference through gardening. This gardening series covers everything from edible gardening and sustainable agriculture to seasonal cooking and preserving the harvest.
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Lowe’s reuses and recycles them.
ok, they use very heavy equipment (oil fueled) to break the stuff down and then they “ship” the 1000 lb boxes to the “manufacturer” of the new recycled product which i guess will then be “shipped” to the distributors who sell it.
has anyone done an analysis of the energy used to recycle all these plastic pots? i can imagine that the environmental payoff is not all that great when you factor in the energy used to break down the damn things and make them into something new
I went to the plastic lumber company looking for the raised bed lumber but couldn’t find it. But by looking at the prices of their other products it is probably going to be too expensive for a piece of plastic.