Garden — Zero Waste — Trying to Be a Zero

I recently designed and helped make some planter boxes. They needed to be specific sizes and they are quite large so buying them seemed WAY too expensive. Plus, I enjoyed the process. But when it came time to fill and plant, I began to wonder about how much soil would be needed to fill them. I was trying to do a relatively low-budget project and although soil is not THAT expensive, it can add up when you need a lot. I also began to think about the weight of the amount of soil that would be needed. What if the boxes ever needed to be moved? Truth be told, I think if someone were to move these it would likely be to get rid of them, so I don’t think that is actually a huge concern, but in my mind, it felt better to reduce the weight if possible. Plus, they are on a balcony and whether it is reasonable or paranoid or whatever, it also feels better to have less weight on a balcony if possible. I began to research ways to reduce the amount of soil needed for planter boxes and raised planter beds. I stumbled upon this idea and loved it.

You essentially fill 1/4 to 1/3 of the planter box with plastic cans, bottles, containers, etc. that you would otherwise throw away or recycle. So this is not exactly reducing waste, as in getting you to consume/throw away less, but it IS diverting this waste away from landfills. Ideally, it would take a little while to accumulate enough items to fill a planter box from your own household because ideally you are not using a lot of plastic. It did take me a minute to gather a sufficient amount of plastics, which made me realize that I HAVE reduced my waste. But I told some friends that I was doing this and they gave me the stuff they would otherwise toss too. It might seem like a trivial and insignificant amount but I like to maintain the philosophy that every little bit helps.

Other positive aspects are that it provides good soil drainage and you are using less soil. Like WAY less. And I generally take the position that using/buying less = less waste. I know it’s soil so I’m not sure that more soil as a product = waste (or maybe it does?). But I do know that it’s less plastic packaging that soil comes in. Again, really trying to take and live the position that every little bit helps…and I believe it does.