Biodegradation & Composting Furniture, Appliances & Consumer Goods

Bioplastics Plant Pots Now Available

500 million plastic plant pots are used every year in the UK. British gardener have an average of 39 plastic plant pots.

The bio-based pots are made from fibrous bio-based materials such as wood pulp, rice hulls and cow manure pressed in the shape of a pot. The biodegradable plant pot can be planted with the plant or thrown in the compost.

The bio-based plant pots are more expensive than plastic ones: 100 8 cm wood pulp pots cost £13,99 (€15,62), while 100 plastic pots will cost £10,88 (€12,15).

A concrete example are plant pots hand crafted in Sri Lanka using coconut husk – waste from local coconut farms.

How are the biodegradable pots produced?

Coconut husk fibres are washed, dried and pressed to produce a loose coir mat and then moulded to produce a rough pot shape. Then it’s dipped in natural latex and put through a much heavier press, to give the pot its final shape. The pots are then dried and trimmed.

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