Where to Buy Zero Waste Plant Pots

The Eco Planter Company creates delightful plant pots, all made with clean energy in a variety of styles and sizes. Made from organic and recycled materials, using a low-waste process.

Don’t leave full watering cans around, as small creatures could drown. Many plants (including all bulbs and sago palm) are unsafe near animals (read more on pet-friendly gardens). Avoid facing indoor foliage to outdoor gardens, to stop birds flying into windows.

The planters are made from a wood and corn-based bioplastic composite, which makes them as durable and water-resistant as plastic, but far better for the planet. They look, feel and smell like wood (they can be industrially composted, look for take-back schemes at garden centres and councils).

There are also eco-friendly vases, again the material is fine for filling with water, before placing your organic flowers inside.

You don’t need flower food or bleach to keep flowers fresh. Just  trim  the stems 1/2 inch at a 45-degree angle, and remove leaves below the water line. Change the water every couple of days and add 1 tablespoon sugar (nourishment) and 1 tablespoons of white vinegar or lemon juice (bacteria control) as natural preservatives.

This company even makes eco-friendly Christmas tree decorations made using the same process. Keep these away from animal friends (read tips on keeping pets safe at Christmas).

Where to Recycle Plastic Plant Pots

Enter your postcode at Recycle Now to find out where – some gardening centres accept them. Black plant pots (like black bin bags) can’t be recycled, as sorting machines don’t recognise the colour, so they have to go in your normal rubbish bin.

Each year, over 500 million plastic plant pots (and trays) are thrown away in the UK, generating waste at landfills or incineration depots. Yet most councils don’t accept them, due to being ‘contaminated with soil’.

Ecotribo (plant pots made from fishing waste)

Ecotribo is a fab brand of eco-friendly plant pots, made from recycling fishing waste. And even made with solar power, in lovely colours and patterns. Made in the hip green city of Bristol.

Each pot includes a scannable QR code, so you can learn the journey of how your plastic pot came to be, while saving marine creatures from Cornish and Scottish fishing waste.

Ghost fishing gear makes up 10% of ocean waste, killing hundreds of thousands of marine creatures. Volunteer to help remove ghost fishing waste.

This brand was founded by a surfer (they tend to be a pretty eco-friendly lot), this case he is from South Africa. If you’re in the market for a park bench or pub seating area, check out their lovely benches, naturally coloured from recycled fishing waste.

POSIpot (plastic-free ‘take plants home’ pots!)

POSIpot is not a pot to grow plants in, but more a transportation sleeve, to replace plastic pots that are sold in garden centres (90% of plastic pots sold in garden centres are used only to transport pots home, then binned within hours). This leads to waste of 500 million plastic pots in circulation each year.

These eco pots instead are made from recycled cardboard. They are flat-packed and assembled to use to make round or square pots, and are designed to slow water absorption, so plants can sit outside for around a week. The fine roots then rapidly break down, when planted.

The Self-Care Planter (keeps plants watered for weeks)

The Self-Care Planter is an amazing little invention for forgetful gardeners! Or if you were going on holiday etc. It’s a ceramic foot-spa, that basically happily keeps your plants watered for weeks at a time. Perfect for plants and potted herbs, just fill with water, the dip the pot’s little feet into the water.

His cotton legs slowly draw up the perfect amount of water, keeping the soil from drying out! The pot is sold in a plastic-free box with instructions.

POTR Plant Pots (that water themselves!)

POTR is a range of pots born out of playing around with origami (the Japanese art of paper folding). It ended up as a company making plant pots and vases that water themselves!

Unlike concrete or ceramic plant pots and vases, these won’t break if you knock or drop them. They also can be folded to post through the letterbox, so are far easier to buy and send. And better yet, they are made from recycled materials, including ghost fishing waste.

These are super-clever! The self-watering system basically self-regulates its own water intake. Ideal if you are away for a couple of days, or very forgetful.

Once you have assembled the pot, just add water, insert the wicking straw into the soil, and watch your plants thrive! The wicking cord can keep plants hydrated for up to 3 weeks, if needed.

The POTR vase is sent through the letterbox, then springs into life, as soon as you open it. It contains a little silicone and is tall and stable enough to hold a litre of water to support a full bouquet of flowers. The soft silicone rim is kind to flower stems.

Many of the pots are now also made from recycled fishing waste, to keep our seas cleaner for fish and marine creatures.

A cotton wick lets the plant draw up water when it needs it, keeping the soil from getting soaked or bone dry. This helps prevent root rot and makes it nearly impossible to overwater. It’s perfect for beginners or anyone who wants to save time.

Kitchen Gardening for Beginners (regrow your leftovers!)

Kitchen Gardening for Beginners shows how to easily regrow vegetable discards and scraps, to turn them into edible plants to harvest, even if you have no gardening experience.

Some indoor plants (including lilies and sago palm) are unsafe near animals (read more on pet-friendly gardens). Avoid facing indoor foliage to outdoor gardens, to stop birds flying into windows.

Stop tossing your carrot tops, leafless herb sprigs, beet greens and lettuce or celery stumps in the bin. Instead, cut back on food waste and cultivate your own homegrown veggies, with easy advice from an expert.

You can grow these plants indoors, using the instructions and photos – showing what the root section, seed, leaf, stem or other plant part should look like, when you replant it. And what it should look like, when ready for harvest. Many of the featured vegetables can be regrown in water or soil.

The book features large and small edible (some quick to grow, others take a little longer). A few of the many plants featured include:

• Celery
• Carrots
• Ginger
• Green Onions
• Herbs
• Potatoes
• Tomatoes

The author has a Bachelor and Master of Science in Horticulture and has managed botanical gardens in the USA.

Also read Indoor Kitchen Gardening,  is a beautifully-written guide to growing a bounty of organic vegetables in your own kitchen. You’ll find information on choosing a space, containers and soil, and using grow lights (not near windows to prevent bird strike).

Written by the co-founder of a community-supported-agriculture farm in Minnesota that provides seasonal food to local people, you’ll learn how to grow:

• Microgreens
• Lettuce
• Radishes
• Carrots
• Kale & Chard
• Spinach
• Peppers
• Potatoes
• Tomatoes

How to Grow Food & Flowers (in bags!)

Grow Bag Gardening shows how to grow vegetables, fruits and herbs with no heavy lifting or digging, just use eco-friendly fabric planter bags that grow easily, with minimal space and care (then just fold them up when not in use).

Ideal for rooftops, balconies and patios, these frost-proof bags are easily moved to maximise sunlight. This no-weed and no-mess method of garden is a game-changer with no root circling.