Tag: Elho

New garden recycling scheme partnership provides solution to plant pot landfill problem

Two industry leading horticultural brands have joined forces to provide gardeners in Edinburgh with a solution to plant pot recycling, preventing further plastic waste ending up in landfill. 

Sustainable plant pot designer, elho, has partnered with nationwide garden centre retailer, Dobbies to provide plastic plant pot recycling bins across 69 of its centres including Edinburgh. This will make it easier than ever to reduce unnecessary plastic waste in the garden and prevent further plastic waste ending up in landfill. 

It has been widely reported that kerbside recycling of plant pots is challenging. Policies vary significantly from council to council, particularly when it comes to black plant pots, which can leave gardeners at a loss with what to do with their disregarded pots. 

Now gardeners can simply take their plastic plant pots and trays to Dobbies Edinburgh store for them to be recycled. The bins provide a simple means of disposing of plant pots in a convenient and environmentally friendly way, rather than having them clutter up garden sheds or adding to landfill. 

This comes as new research from Dobbies Garden Centres reveals that 33% of gardeners in Edinburgh want to recycle more of their garden waste products this spring.  

The survey was based on responses from 2003 UK adults including 147 from Scotland between 4 March and 7 March 2022.  

Both companies are champions of sustainability with industry-leading green initiatives, and the plastic pot recycling bins are the latest innovation in this.

elho places nature at its core and boasts a number of sustainable credentials, including the production of only 100% recyclable plant pots that are made from recycled materials, using 100% renewable wind energy from the company’s very own wind-powered factory in the Netherlands.

Last year alone, the company recycled more than 13 million kilograms of recycled plastic to create its beautifully designed pots. 

Chris Buck, Northern Account Manager at elho, explained: “We’re pleased to be working on this initiative with Dobbies to encourage gardeners to recycle their plant pots, and to make it incredibly easy for them to do so.

“It’s great to be working together to collect plastic garden waste and give it a second lease of life, instead of sending mountains of it to landfill. We wanted to help provide gardeners with a simple, convenient solution to dispose of their plant pots in an environmentally friendly way. When visiting the centre to buy more plants, simply return your old pots – it couldn’t be easier!” 

Dobbies’ goal is for the initiative to provide customers with the knowledge that plant trays and pots they have purchased are recyclable in store. Like elho, Dobbies is committed to delivering environmentally friendly practices, products and sustainable solutions.  

Marcus Eyles, Horticultural Director at Dobbies Garden Centres, added: “We are always looking for ways to embed sustainability into our operations, and this is a positive step forward in our #SustainableDobbies journey.  

“Our research shows that gardeners across Edinburgh are passionate about recycling, so while we have encouraged pot recycling for a number of years in-store, this new bin at our Edinburgh store will provide customers with a clear message and opportunity to recycle.”

UK’s first compost packaging recycling scheme trail launched

71% of residents in Scotland make a conscious effort to recycle

 Waste-aware gardeners in and around Edinburgh and Milngavie will now be able to recycle compost packaging thanks to a trial scheme from the country’s biggest garden retailer. 

Dobbies Garden Centres and Evergreen Garden Care are partnering on the initiative which will see garden furniture created from the recycled material and donated to Greenfingers, a charity that creates green spaces for terminally-ill children. 

Launching this week, trial will run in 10 stores for an initial three months, including Dobbies Garden Centres at Edinburgh and Milngavie.  

Most plastic packaging of the sort used for compost bags ends up in landfill because very few local authorities collect polythene sacks as part of kerbside collections or at recycling centres. 

In a survey conducted by Dobbies, in collaboration with Censuswide, 71% of respondents in Scotland make a conscious effort to recycle*. Dobbies will also be encouraging more people to recycle with instore and online information to make it as easy as possible for customers. 

Linda Petrons, Director of Fundraising and Communications at Greenfingers said: “We believe that time outdoors can bring significant benefits to children with life-limiting conditions.

“By supporting our work through their unique initiative, Dobbies and Evergreen will help us provide more children with the valuable opportunity to spend more time outside enjoying the therapeutic benefits of being close to nature.”  

Marcus Eyles, Horticultural Director at Dobbies, said: “All that people have to do is bring any compost packaging, no matter what brand or where it was purchased, and return it to one of the recycling bins in our plant areas.

“It will then be collected by Veolia for recycling at Berry BPI Recycled Products before used as part of the raw material blend to produce garden furniture becoming a valuable asset for those children’s hospices working with Greenfingers Charity. It’s a great win for the environment, for customers in Edinburgh and Milngavie, and for the community, and an important next stage of our #sustainabledobbies mission.” 

Jane Hartley, Sustainability Marketing Manager said: “Evergreen is delighted to be working with Dobbies and their customers. Evidence suggests that consumers want to take the right action when it comes to recycling so our new Miracle-Gro Bring Back Compost Bags bins will create strong visibility in store to encourage people to recycle. 

“We want to reduce the amount of single use plastic used within our business and compost bags are key to delivering this, we have already increased the amount of recycled content in our compost bags which for Miracle-Gro, now contains 80% recycled content. However, we have so much more to achieve, this is the first of a number of initiatives we are working on.” 

Stores included in the trial are: Edinburgh, Milngavie, Woodcote Green, Altrincham, Morpeth, Cirencester, Milton Keynes, Atherstone, Keston and Brighton. 

Also in these stores are pot recycling bins, in collaboration with Elho, as well as a plastic pot and tray return service, which is available in every Dobbies store.   

Follow and support Dobbies sustainability campaign using the hashtag #sustainabledobbies 

For Dobbies sustainability policy: https://www.dobbies.com/sustainability-policy 

For Dobbies Sustainable podcast: https://www.dobbies.com/podcasts 

*Statistic obtained through combining ‘strongly agree’ and ‘somewhat agree’ answer options for question: ‘I make a conscious effort / go out of my way to recycle’