Isn’t it amazing how that pile of recycling grows each week? Although it’s become really easy to recycle a lot of things, which is GREAT, often we forget that reuse comes before recycle. Trying to re-purpose containers from your recycling bin will help reduce truckloads to recycling plants, plus the energy it takes to melt down containers into new things.

Check out your recycling bin- it’s full of gardening potential! Reincarnate your recycling into seedling containers before sending them to be recycled. Yogurt containers, egg cartons (plastic and cardboard), wide-mouthed glass jars, paper Chinese food take out cartons, and small boxes all make wonderful homes for seedlings and small plants. For plastic containers, use a knife to cut drainage holes in the bottom, and for glass containers, add a drainage layer of rocks or broken terra cotta pots at the bottom. For paper containers, water drainage is less of an issue- any excess should soak right through the bottom. Another advantage of planting in paper containers is that they will biodegrade naturally, making transplanting really easy- just place the container in the ground, and it’ll do it’s own thing!