An Attempt At Making 100% Recycled Newspaper Planting Pots
Last week, my science classes made small vermicomposters in class so we can watch them turn our trash into soil. We will also be able to discuss how energy and nutrients flow through the ecosystem and how carbon is recycled. I gave them about a week to bring in old newspaper and vegetable scraps to build our composters with. I ended up with way more newspaper than we were able to use, and I didn’t want to throw it away, so I began trying to think of a way to upcycle it. My idea:
100% Recycled Newspaper Planting Pots
If you’ve ever picked up a newspaper that has been left out in the rain and then dried out again, you may have noticed how it got kind of stiff. It is a texture that reminds me of the peat pots that many people use to start their seeds, so I began to wonder if I could use it to make some planting pots. I figured my idea couldn’t be that original, so I did a quick internet search to find some instructions. To my surprise, I couldn’t find anything resembling what I wanted to do, but there were several blog articles about folding a single page of newspaper origami style into a container shape and planting in that. The problems I read about that style were that they fell apart too easily when transplanting and that if you leave a portion of the newspaper above the soil, it acts as a wick and draws water from the soil only to let it evaporate away quickly. I think my idea will easily solve the first problem, but I’m not so sure about the second.
Soaking The Newspaper
Dry Shredded Newspaper
After Soaking For 2 Days
For my version of a newspaper planting pot, I was going to need the newspaper to be extremely soggy; almost pulpy. I decided to tear it into small pieces and soak them in water. It took about 2 days for it to get the the consistency that I was looking for.
Molding The Paper Pulp Into Shape
Once the paper was ready, I molded it to the inside of a hard plastic cup. I just took small globs and pressed them into the cup; starting at the bottom and working my way up. I was careful not to leave any bare spots, and I kind of worked the edges together with each new blob that I added. I didn’t want there to be any seams that would fall apart after it dried.
Finishing Up The Mold
Finished Filling The Cup
Ready To Dry
Once I had molded the soggy paper onto the entire cup, I had to find a way to dry the thing. Unfortunately, I was not able to get the wet-paper mold out of the cup without destroying it. Instead, I broke the cup away from it. If this project works out, the plastic cups will not be a feasible way to make more of them. The whole point is to use biodegradable materials and to cut back on waste. To destroy a plastic cup for each pot made would be counterproductive. If I plan to make enough of these to actually use, then I’ll need to find a work-around. However, this exercise was just for proof of concept.
Drying It Out
I let the pot sit out for a while to dry, but it was taking way too long. So, I placed it on the air return vent to the HVAC system in my classroom. Again, If I were actually producing these things, then I would want a less energy intensive way to dry them. I would probably find them a nice dry, sunny spot outside. However, I got a little impatient, and I wanted to know if this thing would work.
So, How Did It Turn Out?
Exactly As I Had Hoped
It held together way better than I had hoped it would! The texture actually reminds me of a peat pot, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to water the plant in it without it falling apart. I haven’t tried putting any soil in it, yet. I’m debating whether or not I want to poke some drainage holes in the bottom before I do. I’m going to test it out pretty soon, and I’ll keep you updated on how it works. If it is successful, then I may try to figure out a more efficient way to make them!
Thanks for reading, and if you have any experience doing anything like this, please let me know how it turned out!
I have made recycled paper many times in a very similar fashion. After letting it soak overnight or so, I lay it out on window screen flat to dry into a page. So I'd recommend buying a piece of window screen and rolling it in a tube with a rubber band, maybe, and a flat piece on the bottom. Good luck!
Excellent idea! It took quite a bit of time to carefully line the whole inside of the cup. With screen, I could just glob it onto the flat surface, first. That would save so much time! Thank you!
Welcome! Let us know how it works for you!
Great Idea, and a really good post. Thank you for sharing it. We do not get the newspaper, but we have tons of cardboard all the time. I think maybe if we tore it up really well, it may work too.
I like the way your mind works. Anything to cut down waste is a win in my book. Unfortunately, the wasted plastic negates the recycling effort.
Do you have a woodstove, fireplace or outside firepit? If so, you can do the same thing to create paper fire logs, as well. The wet paper compresses quite well and even magazines can be used for that. They are so dense, they rival actual wood logs in burn time.
As for an idea to save the cup, you can spray the cup with oil before packing in the paper and hopefully it will just slide out.
The next step will be to find a more feasible way to mold the paper cups. Since they do not need to be perfect, I suggest trying to make them thicker and just shape them by hand and see if they hold their shape until dry. Then you don't need to have a mold and a process is skipped, making the task more efficient.
I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Great job!
Awesome article! Love that you're educating kids how to be more sustainable. We've resteemed your article @the-hearth, @mountainjewel's earth-centered curation page. We hope many people will see this easy and decomposable seeding pot idea. So much plastic goes into the seeding industry! Thanks!
Great post @sustainablyyours 😁 I used to recycle paper and make cards, but making planting pots is a great idea! Looking forward to following you for more inspirational sustainability posts 😄
That was such a good idea and a good try too!
The first tome I went to india they had disposable clay cups for chai...you had to drink fast before the clay started disintegrating. Sometimes you'd see piles of these broken cups on the side of train tracks. Pretty amazing I thought.
And later we saw plates and bowls made of pressed leaves, that's what your idea made me think of.
Thank you for sharing, following you. I'like to see the sesults and whatever else you come up with.
Very creative! So has it worked?
It's not that we don't have enough pots around, but they're obviously made of plastic, so we keep polluting the environment and viable alternative would be of great help.
I'm thinking this could be a good replacement for peat pods!
I have made 2, so far, and I planted a some seeds in each 2 days ago (tomatoes in one; cucumbers in the other). I want to see how the roots develop in them. I also planning on making a few more to compare how long they stay moist to peat pots.
Keep us posted then.