Remember to lift the blue lid of your recycling cart after you’ve done any gardening around your home! If you’re not going to re-use them, those plastic flowerpots and plant trays can all be recycled!
Everything from large nursery flowerpots for shrubs and trees to small planting trays for annual bedding plants, perennials, vegetables and herbs can all be recycled. Simply rinse or wipe out the dirt and put the plastics in your recycling cart. These plastic pots and trays can also be taken to your nearest recycling depot.
Waste Reduction Facilitator Rae Stewart reminds us, “Most plastic packaging is accepted in the curbside recycling program, and these plastics from your plants are no different. Just ensure your garden pots or trays are cleaned of all dirt before you recycle them. As for those little tags that identify the plants, those need to go in the garbage, they are not part of the recycling program.”
Deanne Stephenson, Manager of Cascades Recovery, the facility where all our recycling ends up for sorting, says, “The markets where the plastics are shipped for recycling are watching closely for quality issues, so keeping the plastics clear of dirt, wooden stakes, metal twist ties or other contaminants is essential. Other garden items not accepted include ceramic pots, tarps, plastic furniture, garden hoses and plastic string or rope.”
Businesses like nurseries, landscape design contractors and farmers with larger volumes can contact Cascades Recovery at 250-491-2242 to arrange for the recycling of their plastics.