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Anyone have any pots they are looking to recycle
danniintwiggy
Posts: 3
Hi folks,
I am a new gardener and this spring I have began sowing my first ever crop of seeds. On doing as much research as I can I have discovered that there are many gardeners out there who accrue many plant pots over the years and then struggle to recycle. So my question is does anyone local to cannock/hednesford have any pots they would like to rehome? I am looking for pots of all sizes and would reather recycle and reduce carbon foot print then buy new.
If you can help please get in touch 
0
Posts
Also try freecycle, freegle, gumtree and local garden centres, if you haven't already.
Local garden centers will sometimes have a box near checkout that people can recycle their pots in.. just ask if you can grab some.
I make my own wooden planters using used pallets. Often unwanted pallets get burnt or just chucked on a heap, so if I see one I can drag back to my home, I often do... I'm sure it must look very amusing! But you can ask around for them too, shops being good places as they very often get them left from deliveries. They may even be willing to deliver them just to be able to get rid of them (they often have to pay a charge to get them taken away).
It's not hard to make your own planters and there are endless tutorials and videos online showing you the basics all the way up to how to make a living/green wall. And of course it means you can make them how you like and however big or small you like, even making them to fit awkward gaps etc. You can use anything from spray paint to proper wood varnish (I've used both), to decorate and treat them. You can even engrave and scorch your own personal designs into the wood!
One word of warning though. Always make absolutely sure that the pallets you use are heat treated, never chemical treated. Especially if your going to grow edibles in them. This is easy to know. Look on the pallet and if it's heat treated it'll have 'HT' stamped or scorched into the wood. Any other letters and avoid it, just to be safe. And I would always recommend lining your planters too... I just use tough garden bags tacked to the inside.
A fun and very cheap option, and your saving the environment too : )
Your planters sound fab Blue and thank you for the HT warning, I didn't know that
Ps sorry Danni, you are other end of country to me, otherwise you would have been welcome to mine
That's OK BM. The chemical treated ones will contain pesticides used to kill any little bugs in the wood, along with other strong and unpleasant nasties. Really not something you want absorbed into your foodie-plants.
The heat treated ones are only treated with a very high heat. No chemicals used.
Danni, sorry but I live too far away, otherwise you could have some of mine too. But when I have too many I usually take them to the local tip for recycling. Perhaps there's one near you that has some. Hope you're able to find some.
Hi I live In South Manchester where I'm part of a land share group.
this started with Eat Green, the Director Amand Woodvine has joined with the local library and formed a tool share, which also include plant pots.
no use for you, unfortunately .
we are on Facebook, Didsbury Diggers if anyone wants to check us out!
i hope it's ok to put this on this site?