If you're like most gardeners, you've probably got a lot of plastic pots cluttering up your garage. (I've even got a little stack stashed in the corner of my deck, leftovers from my last frantic planting spree.)
With fall cleanup on the brain, it's tempting to toss all those pots and plastic trays in the trash. Resist the urge. Instead, recycle 'em, at one of 45 garden centers around the state.
The Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association's garden plastic recycling program, now in its sixth year, has kept millions of pounds of plastic out of landfills.
More than 30 garden centers have been accepting plastic pots all growing season; this weekend (Sept. 17 and 18), another dozen join the effort.
What can you bring in for recycling? Any size plastic pot that came with trees, shrubs, flowers or other plants you bought at a garden center. You can also bring in those little polystyrene trays that annuals and bedding plants are sold in. But other types of household plastic will NOT be accepted, nor will clay pots.
Wipe excess soil from the pots, and remove any metal hangers.
The participating garden centers receive no payment for the plastic they recycle, according to the MNLA. It's a service they provide free of charge, in an effort to reduce landfill waste.
To see which garden centers are participating in this program, visit www.gardenminnesota.com/content.asp?pl=5&sl=18&contentid=18
