When shopping for seedlings at most garden and hardware stores they still come in plastic pots, these can be reused at home when growing your own seedlings from seeds (although we have used egg cartons in the past). These pots are usually not accepted by kerbside recycling as they’re often contaminated with dirt, leaving them to end up in landfills.
Mitre 10 has spent a considerable amount of time and resources figuring out a way to combat this issue – now all Mitre 10 stores are accepting CLEAN, unwanted, plastic ID5 plant and seedling pots for recycling!
Mitre 10 Pot Recycle is closing the loop on plastic garden plant and seedling pots, diverting them from landfill and reducing the amount of new plastic used.
Mitre 10 stores are stepping up. We’re accepting clean plant and seedling pots and labels made of plastic ID 5. The pots are sent to our recycling partners, Recycling Group and Pact Group, to be shredded and melted into resin, which is then remoulded into new pots by our supply partner Zealandia Horticulture.
All you need to do is clean out your pots and drop them into the Pot Recycle crate at your local Mitre 10 store.
This is a truly circular, closed-loop process, where pots sold in-store can be returned and reused for the same purpose. It’s a part of our commitment to making a real and sustainable impact on the environment and the communities we are part of.
Why is washing the pots important?
The machines used for recycling the plastic cannot process dirt as well. Pots that haven’t been properly cleaned can contaminate the plastic which disrupts the entire cycle and may eventually lead to these pots once again going to landfill.
What does Mitre 10 accept?
Any plant pot, container or label identified as ID 5. At present, we cannot accept black poly bags or unidentified plastics. This program is not designed to manage commercial volumes of pots, and is aimed at supporting residential customers.
What if I can’t identify my pot?
We’re working closely with our trade partners to ensure all the pots sold at Mitre 10 can be identified with a plastic ID code. We are unable to accept unidentified plastics at present.
Why not just clean and reuse pots?
We looked at various potential solutions, but due to the level of demand for plants and seedlings, along with biosecurity risks like myrtle rust and phytophthora, this isn’t viable at commercial scale. We landed on a practical solution that turns old plastic pots into new ones, making better use of existing resources.
For more information visit the Mitre 10 website here.
About The Author: Katie Brooks
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