Are you a current or aspiring gardener who is overwhelmed by the amount of plastic in the gardening world? Join the club! This post walks you through some small steps to reducing your reliance on new plastic items, and highlights the importance of extending the life of plastic items that you already own. I don’t claim to be perfect, but I do strive to be better where I can, and I hope this post inspires you to do the same.
A recent study (published in 2024) reported that backyard gardens and urban agriculture contribute a ‘carbon footprint’ six times greater than that of conventional food production systems. This was pretty shocking to read, considering that I believe those looking to grow their own food are usually very environmentally conscious and endeavour to do the right thing by our planet. Upon further reading, it is cited that ‘infrastructure’ is the biggest contributing factor to carbon emissions from urban agriculture. It can be assumed that the embodied energy of plastic manufacturing for garden equipment and infrastructure greatly contributes to these figures.
Now, I don’t quite agree with the way that the ‘carbon footprint’ has been used as a means to pass the responsibility of the state of the world onto individuals (rather than large, polluting corporations), but I do think we have a shared responsibility to do what we can within our means (consumer dollars are so powerful in creating change). And I think we can all agree that in general, plastic is bad news!
Why avoid excess plastic in the garden?
Although there are plenty of benefits, and I still use many plastic items in my garden (hello black plastic pots, buckets, irrigation system and seed trays), there are several reasons that I’d recommend reducing or avoiding the use of single-use plastics in your garden where you can, these are the main ones:
Soil Health: Plastic materials can leach harmful chemicals into the soil over time, potentially disrupting the soil food web and harming soil microorganisms essential for plant growth.
Microplastic Contamination: When exposed to sunlight and weathering, plastic materials can break down into smaller pieces called microplastics. These can contaminate the soil and water, potentially harming plants, wildlife, and beneficial soil organisms.
Wildlife Hazard: Larger plastic items, such as bags or containers, can pose a threat to wildlife if they become entangled or ingested, leading to injury or death.
Non-recyclable: Did you know that those black plastic pots and punnets aren’t meant to go into the recycling bin? Black plastics are unable to be sorted by processing equipment, and they will most likely end up in landfill. Plastic pollution is a global issue, and is causing devastating harm to our ecosystems. This is another reason to avoid buying them in the first place, but if you do need to buy plastic plant pots, please reuse them!
My top tips to limiting or reducing the amount of plastic in your garden
1. Use and reuse what you already have
This is essential – before going out and buying anything, have a look at what you already have. Can you reuse something? Can you borrow from a friend? Can you use repurpose something?
As tempting as it is to keep minimalist potting/garden sheds, I recommend hanging onto plenty of pots, punnets and trays to have on hand when you need them, rather than purchasing new plastic pots.
2. Source second hand items
This is just as essential – if you just don’t have anything suitable for the task at hand, the first point of call should be to buy something second hand rather than buying something new. Have a think about how much energy goes into creating those new plastic items, energy that is already stored in an existing item that serves the exact same purpose. I love using those black plastic pots, and I’ve never, ever bought any new. I find the best place to look for old pots or other second hand items is Facebook marketplace, word of mouth, or the local tip shop. As a bonus, buying second hand is so much cheaper!
3. Use seed tray/pot alternatives
I love my plastic seed tray, which was a gift from my beautiful sister. It’s good quality, solid plastic that will stand up to many, many growing seasons. If you are interested in alternatives to plastic seed trays, here are a couple of simple swaps.
- Soil blockers – these are tools that create small, compact soil ‘blocks’ that can be placed into shallow trays. These blocks hold their structure for seeds to be planted into. Soil blockers are usually made of metal and can be used indefinitely, creating no plastic waste.
- Cardboard toilet paper tubes – this is a great way to use an existing product and repurpose it into small, compostable pots that can be planted directly into the garden bed.
- Newspaper – you can make your own pots from newspaper, there are plenty of YouTube videos that show how to do this.
- Punnets – keep seedling punnets and plant seeds directly into these. Simply leave enough space to break apart the soil when the seedlings are large enough to transplant.
- Second hand seed trays – why not see if you can find any second hand seed trays!
- Compostable or biodegradable pots – these are available from most garden centres or plant nurseries, though they are often not very cost effective.
- Egg cartons – these work quite well for seed raising. Simply fill with soil and plant your seeds. When ready to plant, carefully cut into individual cells and plant the whole thing in the ground.
4. Grow from seed instead of buying seedlings
Growing your plants from seed is the perfect way to reduce the amount of plastic coming into your garden. When growing from seed, you don’t need to worry about accumulating excess punnets or pots, and you can sow many plants directly into the garden bed or container to avoid additional steps.
It’s a good idea to try a couple of different plants at a time to grow from seed, until your get the hang of it.
When starting seed in pots, try and use what you already have, or one of the seed tray/pot alternatives listed above.
5. Avoid plastic weed matting/plastic mulch
Plastic ‘mulch’ is popular amongst larger scale gardens. The convenience of covering a large area and the inability for plants to penetrate it makes plastic sheets an attractive option to many. However, using it the backyard garden is not really necessary when you can use other mulches such as straw, sugar cane, old newspapers, cardboard or leaves. These things break down and actually feed the soil microbes, creating a win-win in the garden.
Instead of using weed matting, you might like to try removing the top layer of soil (which contains weed seeds and roots of existing weeds) and covering the bare earth with a thick layer of cardboard. Then you can simple cover the cardboard with your growing medium and continue on your way. You can also use old hessian bags, as the natural fibres are compostable. It may not stop 100 percent of the weeds, but really, neither will weed matting.
6. Avoid plastic planters where possible
There are so many large plastic planters emerging on the market. They come in all shapes and size and most of them are designed for small spaces or spaces without soil, making it easier to grow in urban area. Which the concept of these are fantastic, I believe money is better spent on planters that are made out of hardwood timber or metal, as these items are going to last a lot longer and will continue to look good over many years.
7. Build your own raised beds and planters
If you have the means, it is always a great idea to build your own raised beds/planters. This allows you to control the materials and the quality, as well as make them unique and suited to your space and gardening style. I recommend sourcing reclaimed materials such as hardwood timer and corrugated iron where possible, to minimise the purchasing of new materials. Check out my blog post on how to build raised garden beds from recycled materials.
8. Avoid plastic plant labels
Plastic labels are one of those things that you may not think about, but have you ever though about using an alternative?
I like to use icy pole/popsicle sticks to label my seedlings. I write on them with a waterproof marker and stick them in the side of the pot or tray. They can be reused and composted at the end of their life. I’ve also seen people write on rocks with paint markers to indicate where things are planted in the garden. I think this is a really cute idea!
9. Make your own compost
Make your own compost. This is pretty self explanatory – instead of building compost in bags, have a go at making your own. It’s a good idea to learn how to go about setting up a compost heap or bin so that you’re set up to win. Composting is also a wonderful way to dispose of kitchen scraps and most garden waste.
10. Buy potting mix/compost/soil/mulch in bulk
This one follows on from the above point. When sourcing larger quantities of soil/potting mix/compost/mulch/manure, the best thing you can do is buy it in bulk. This not only saves on single use soft plastics, but also saves you a lot of money!
If I’m not needing a large amount, I like to go to my local garden supply centre and ask to fill my own plastic bags or bucket, garden centres are usually very open to this idea!
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