How can I reuse or recycle … empty plastic compost/grow bags?

Compost bagIt’s really starting to feel like spring here and I’ve been sorting out the garden in short bursts over the last week as well as repotting some houseplants for their shortly-to-commence mad growth spurt.

Our compost bin compost tends to have big chunks of material in it so I just dig it into the beds and use shop-bought compost for the houseplants. As I can only carry the small sacks of it back from the shops, I quickly end up with a number of the compost’s plastic bags lying around the garden – they’re quite a heavy yet flexible, opaque plastic and the inside is usually black. They’re pretty strong but do tear if treated too roughly and/or pokily.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve used them to line hanging baskets (black-side out) and collected random plastic pots in them to stop said pots ending up blown all over the street but I’d love to hear it if anyone has any more ideas for reuses.

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10 Responses to “How can I reuse or recycle … empty plastic compost/grow bags?”


  1. john b says:

    You could poke some drainage holes in the bottom of them then fill them with homemade compost and plant potatoes in them. when it comes time to harvest your spuds you just empty the bag – no digging! you’ll probably be able to put two or three plants in a bag.

  2. Andy says:

    I use them as rubble sacks, to hold all those annoying bricks, shards of glass and stones in the garden beds, so I can safely dispose of them in the bin.

  3. Use them as a mulch around plants? They won’t last as long as the proper stuff, though.

  4. yogahz says:

    Split them open and lay down as a weed barrier in flower beds.

  5. Ruth says:

    Leave a little compost in, moisten it, flatten bag to exclude air, now seal the end with wire. Lay flat on side & make x-shaped holes in top surface. This is now ready to receive cuttings from your fuchsias, geranium etc. to make new plants.

  6. NOG says:

    Use them as Liners for hanging baskets.

  7. Retha Taber says:

    I use them to cover small trees and shrubs to protect them form the deer that vist my back yard in winter.

  8. Olia says:

    Line with the bag a wooden flower flower pot/box, then fill with soil and plant.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Use for trash and then dispose.

  10. Jessica says:

    You may be able to recycle them with carrier bags at supermarkets.



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