Wyevale Nurseries is introducing recyclable plant pots for all its retail plants so that they can be recycled kerbside by consumers.

The nursery will replace its black plastic pots for taupe coloured pots supplied by Aeroplas in the West Midlands next year, as a contribution to the war on plastic.

Steve Reed, production director of the container division at Wyevale Nurseries in Hereford, said more than 700,000 of the new pots would be used in 2019.

“There will be a big overlap for customers as everything we have potted this year is in black pots but by autumn 2019 most of our stock will be supplied in taupe pots to retailers.

“The general public can then recycle the taupe pots kerbside with other household waste, which has not been possible before. The black pots would previously end up in landfill because they contain carbon black pigment. The new taupe pots are carbon black pigment-free polypropylene, which can be identified by near infrared (NIR) analysis and therefore can be recycled through kerbside collections.

“The recyclable taupe pot is an industry initiative being led by representatives from the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) and UK growers. It’s great to see many growers’ backing the taupe pot and we’re very keen to look at the other ways we use plastic within the company to furthermore improve our environmental credentials.”

The nursery is also investigating potential alternatives to its A3 Correx boards supplied for retail promotions.

Steve added: “We want to hear from our customers about the Correx boards and if they feel they really help generate more sales or if a small bed card would have the same effect. Our plan is to find a better substitute for the boards, which means there is then less waste. We welcome any feedback.”

Wyevale Nurseries uses plant labels from Floramedia, all recyclable via the kerbside collection.