Plastic half pots

[Mike]

I see that Marie's Pots are selling shallow 8.5cm pots at £18/100.
https://mariespotsdirect.co.uk/?product ... 100-save-2

I do need quite a few this size, but I see they are described as 'biodegradable plastic'. And I can't seem to find any that are of ordinary plastic.

Surely biodegradable plastic pots is a rather bad idea? Given that a good pot can last many years, and be washed and re-used many times, before recycling, why would you want a biodegradable pot? Has anyone tried them?

Mystified
Mike

[habanerocat]

I see that Marie's Pots are selling shallow 8.5cm pots at £18/100.
https://mariespotsdirect.co.uk/?product ... 100-save-2

I do need quite a few this size, but I see they are described as 'biodegradable plastic'. And I can't seem to find any that are of ordinary plastic.

Surely biodegradable plastic pots is a rather bad idea? Given that a good pot can last many years, and be washed and re-used many times, before recycling, why would you want a biodegradable pot? Has anyone tried them?

Mystified
Mike

Looks like a miss-print. The Kuma website doesn't show any biodegradable pots.

https://www.kumaplastics.nl/product-cat ... s/?lang=en

[Stuart]

Yes, Kuma pots are biodegradable, they're fine for about a couple of years or longer if left untouched. After a couple of years they disintegrate without very careful handling. They're all made with recycled plastic and sometimes last longer but they're not in the BEF league, not anywhere near. So why use them, two good reasons, the large Dutch nurseries can throw out dead plants, often grafted red gymnos etc, complete with the pots and the whole lot can be composted. This saves the labour costs of separating the pots from the plants plus, used pots don't flow well through potting machines. The second reason, cost - I use 5cm and 6.5cm Kuma pots throughout the nursery, the 6.5cm pots cost about £1 for 65 pots, that's about one and a half pence each! When new, they're strong and really good quality. All the plants in the collection in 6.5cm pots are in Kuma pots though I wouldn't use any of the larger sizes. If kept out of strong direct sun, Kuma pots are fine for Haworthias and Gasterias and will last much longer. For sizes larger than 6.5cms, I've used Optipots for the last 30 years or maybe longer than that, they seem to be everlasting.

Stuart

[Eric Williams]

Hi Stuart, are bio degradable pots the ones that you can destroy with a good squeeze, or am I thinking of some thing else ? Thanks

[Stuart]

They'll be destroyed with a good squeeze when they've been in the sun for a couple of years, remove the plant first though.

Stuart

[Eric Williams]

Thanks Stuart

[Mike]

Thanks Stuart.

In which case they're not for me. They would be for things like Conophytum and Lithops, so the pots will be in full sun, and the plants may be in each pot for a number of years. I have enough trouble with small conventional plastic pots becoming brittle in these conditions anyway!

Cheers

Mike

[Phil_SK]

There are two different things that are regularly confused: plastics without uv stabilisers and biodegradable plastics. Lots of cheaply-produced plastics do not contain the chemicals needed to ensure that they can last a long time in sunshine without becoming brittle. However, almost none of these is biodegradable. Biodegradable plastics can be broken down by living things - usually soil microbes - and tend to be made from plant materials (starch, wood) although there are a few derived from petroleum products. They are uncommon.

[habanerocat]

I'm enjoying this website lately.

https://www.gardenmyths.com/compostable ... #more-6875

Hard to know what to believe though......

[Peter]

If you can't wait until Manchester branch reopens in August, I have lots of used BEF pots for sale. PM me for info.