Plastic Pot RecyclingDr. Steven Cline
Kemper Center for Home Gardening P.O. Box 299 St. Louis, MO 63166 Phone: (314) 577-9561 email: steven.cline@mobot.org Project Start: May, 2009
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The Plastic Pot Recycling program has gained national recognition for its ingenuity and earth friendly ways to dispose of plastic containers most plants are sold in. Beginning in May each year and running through the end of September, Master Gardeners assist with the collection and processing of plastic pots and trays into chips that are then sent to manufacturers to be made in to other recycled goods. This project takes place at the Garden's Monsanto Center in the west parking lot. Volunteers are needed on Wednesday's. Last year over 160,000 pounds of pots were diverted from local landfills. Over 350 million pounds of plastic is disposed into landfills each year in the U.S. by the gardening public. The Pots to Planks Program was initiated to divert a portion of this plastic back into a useful product. The program started in 1998 when about 10,000 pounds of pots and trays were heaped in a pile on the parking lot of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Since that time, each year a larger collection is made. To date, over a half million pounds of horticultural plastic has been collected. This materials is granulated on site at the Monsanto Center (4500 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO) and recycled into lumber, pallets and other goods. With the assistence of many Master Gardener Volunteers, this program continues to grow as more and more gardeners are enthusiastically moved to recycle their horticultural plastic.
