Plastic bottles can be a frustrating nuisance, adding to landfill clutter and taking up resources to produce. But if you have a few lying around, a TikTok user came up with a quick hack to put them to good use in your garden.
The scoop
Joe Clark (@joesgarden) shared a video showing how he utilizes old water bottles to become hanging planters for food. Simply cut off the top part of the bottle, with the cap still on, poke some holes in the top area — including the cap — with a heated fork, and then poke four evenly spaced in the bottom for twine.
@joesgarden Fun way to up-cycle old bottles and grow your own food at home 😊🌱♻️! #planttok #plants #learnontiktok #eco #diy #recycle #asmr #gardentoplate #garden ♬ Married Life (From "Up") - Geek Music
Then put the top section down in the bottom. Load it up with perlite, soil, compost, and other growing materials, thread even lengths of twine through the holes to help it hang, place it where you want in your garden, and plant away.
How it's working
While many plastic bottles are recyclable, repurposing them is an excellent alternative. It's a good way to prevent them from working their way into landfills and the ocean, which impacts marine life and the ecosystem.
According to Healthy Human, Americans buy 29 billion water bottles a year, and for every six purchased, only one is recycled, and it can take 1,000 years for a plastic bottle to break down.
Repurposing the bottles also saves money on buying hanging planters for gardening at home, saving resources, trips to the store, and shipping costs and pollution. And when you grow your own food at home, as Joe did with lettuce, strawberries, and other produce, you get the maximum nutritional benefit of organic produce for a fraction of the cost.
Plastic bottles are also being reused in other unique ways. Earlier this year, an entrepreneur in Cambodia named Has Kea started an upcycling business that turned 44 tons of plastic bottles into brooms.
What people are saying
One person in the comments was ready to get started right away, writing: "Rummaging through the recycle bin! Happy Sunday project!"
"That's such a good idea," added another person.
Another commenter mentioned they do something similar, leaving water in the bottom to act as "a hydroponic reservoir." They also recommended painting it black to avoid algae growth, something Joe said he usually does but happened to be out of paint the day he filmed. "It works well!" he said in a reply.
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