They must either be repurposed, broken down for reuse by a special facility, donated, or thrown out. Terra cotta, ceramic, and cement pots cannot be recycled. Seattle, however, does accept plastic plant pots at curbside recycling as long as they’re clean. Chicago, for example, does not accept plant pots at the curb because they’re usually contaminated with dirt and made of plastics not accepted for recycling there. Can you recycle plant pots in your normal recycling bin?įor plastic pots, it depends on where you live. The Guardian reported that if the cement industry were a country, it would be the third-largest producer of CO2 emissions. Terra cotta and ceramics are fired at temperatures around 1700 degrees, which takes a lot of power. These materials also require a lot of resources to produce. If you bury these, they will disturb the natural soil, potentially making it less fertile or depriving it of nutrients. It’s a common misconception that because these are made of natural materials, they will break down, but the process of firing or hardening them makes them impervious to water and air. Terra cotta, ceramic, and cement are also NOT biodegradable. What about terra cotta, ceramic, or cement pots? Are these bad for the environment? Unless they’re recycled or repurposed, they end up in landfills that produce harmful greenhouse gases, or they make their way into bodies of water.īeing so thin and flimsy, plant pots are even more likely than some other plastics to break down into microplastics that can enter the water supply and food chain. Most plant pots are made of plastic, and, like all petroleum-based plastics, they are not biodegradable. Why are typical plant pots harmful to the environment? While this may sound like a cause for despair, there are ways to repurpose and recycle plant containers so you can mitigate the impact of plant packaging and still satisfy your green thumb. It’s a shame that plants, which are so natural and beneficial, come in materials that are harmful to the environment, but if you want a lush garden or indoor oasis, these kinds of pots are hard to avoid.
If you’re an avid gardener, you probably already have a pile lying around, and if you’re a new plant owner, you’ll see how easy it is to amass a collection of what almost all plants come in these days: non-environmentally-friendly pots.
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