Ecotribo (plant pots made from fishing waste)

Ecotribo makes plant pots in Bristol, from ghost fishing waste. Made with solar power in lovely colours and patterns, 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 in Cornwall and Scotland.

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.

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.

Myth: indoor plants don’t ‘clean the air’

Be careful what you read in the media about ‘indoor plants to clear the air’. This is a 30-year old myth based on old NASA technology (the only way this could happen, would be if you literally covered a room in so many plants that you wouldn’t be able to see or move!)

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’.