Messzelátó Egyesület

Recyclable Plant Pots

“Recyclable plant pots” is an idea to use old plastic bottles, such as those used for Pepsi, Coke, or water, etc. and turn the bottles into pots for plants. You first cut the top off of a bottle. You could use the top of the bottle, the part with the cap on it, as a shovel of sorts to scoop dirt into the bottom section of the bottle. Fill the bottom bottle with potting soil and find a plant small enough to plants into the bottle. With any luck the plant should take root in the bottle. You may even be able to see the roots of the plant throw the bottle plastic.

This project could be beneficially in several ways. One is that it is very easily done, so it can be done by younger people as well. This would be a good project for school children to do in order to learn about recycling and protecting the environment. The children could be asked to find a plastic bottle from their home that they’ve used and bring it to school, where they could learn to make a “Bottle plant.”
A concern is funding, however. Even though the bottles could be donated, the potting soil, the plants themselves, and the water would all bring up costs. If cheap, smaller plants could be found to plant into these bottle pots, then this could keep the costs down. Also, if cheap potting soil can be found, this would also help. Other recycled materials, like old tires to place the bottles in, could also cost money, but could be found at junkyards and usually bought cheaply. Any old, unwanted container can be used to keep the plants in, if you are creating a garden. If you are not creating a garden, then the simple bottles will do.

Another way this project could help is to involve youth groups in large scale planting. Here in Budapest there are courtyards in several buildings, and unfortunately most of them are gray, ugly, and bare. One thing that could be done is to involve youth groups to build courtyard gardens using all recyclable materials, at least as many recyclable materials as possible. This would mean finding youth groups willing to do this and also finding building owners who are willing to have a garden in their building’s courtyard. A section of the courtyard could be allotted to the planters, and they could set up some sort of barrier for their project. Old spare tires could be good for this. One could take the bottles used for planting and put them in the middle of the tire, packing them in tightly in order to keep them secure. Finding ways to keep the “bottle gardens” together and secure is key.

This project can also be done at home in your spare time, and can give your home some life, as well as being environmentally friendly.