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New biodegradable pot plants offer an alternative to the millions of plastic trays used every year by nurseries and gardeners.
A new biodegradable plant pot has been developed as an alternative to the 350 million plastic trays used per year by nurseries and gardeners.
The product, developed by Pinehurst Associates with support from the Ministry for Primary Industries, is a pot that starts to biodegrade once put into soil and even acts as a fertiliser.
PolBionix is made from biopolymers (sugarcane, cassava and corn) and a bio filler.
Pinehurst Associates Director Peter Wilson said the advantage of the product was its long shelf life.
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It could also withstand the regular watering and handling that took place in commercial nurseries, he said.
The pots would be more expensive than traditional plastic pots due to the raw materials needed. However, reduced labour, landfill and environmental costs put PolBionix as a clear winner, he said.
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MPI’s director of investment programmes Steve Penno said taking commonly used plastic pots out of landfill would help the environment.
The pots would last 12 months above ground before biodegrading, Penno said, but once they were planted they would start to biodegrade immediately.
“While the pots may cost a bit more financially, they won’t cost the earth.”
Auckland Council trialled the planting of PolBionixpots in Waitawa Regional Park in Kawakawa Bay in August and further pots were planted at an Auckland school in October.
MPI/Supplied
The pots are being tested in commercial nurseries.
Wilson said PolBionixis was the result of four years of research in collaboration with Crown research institute Scion, as well as funding support from Callaghan Innovation and Auckland Council’s Waste Minimisation Fund.
The project received $41,000 initially from the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund.
It has since received $85,000 from the Ministry for the Environment’s Plastics Innovation Fund to continue the research and fast-track commercialisation.
“The potential for the development of additional products that help mitigate the damage fossil-based plastic does to the environment is exciting,” Wilson said.
The pots are currently being tested in three commercial nurseries.
