At Pots For Tots, we are dedicated to reducing, reusing, and recycling - we strive to be as sustainable as we possibly can! That's why our pots, boxes, cards and even the dry ice sachets are all recyclable, so we are not contributing to plastic waste and so you never have to feel guilty about ordering over and over again.
Our cardboard food pots are also designed to be microwaveable, freezer-friendly, BPA-free and suitable for your baby to eat straight from them. Once you've finished our tasty meals, simply clean the inside of the pots and pop them into your cardboard recycling bin. Easy as that.
But before you recycle the pots, there are endless ways you and your little ones can reuse them. To celebrate Sustainable September, we're sharing five fun and easy ideas that you can try at home…
Grow Pots
Teaching your children about growing fresh produce is a great way to get them interested in food and to understand where some of their food comes from. An easy and fun way to get them started is to grow cress in empty pots:
- Clean out your cardboard Pots for Tots pot.
- Line damp kitchen roll or cotton wool along the bottom of the pot.
- Sprinkle a teaspoon of cress seeds over the wet tissue and press them down (you can order these online or pick these up from a local garden centre).
- Place them in a warm sunny place and spritz with water once a day until the cress is fully grown - this should take about a week.
- Then your little one can add their homegrown cress to sandwiches, salads and more!
Craft Pots
If you’re planning on doing some crafts with the little ones, you can use a few washed-out pots to divide up paint, pastels, decorations, glue and anything else in your craft stash! This is a great way to regulate how much of everything is used and keep crafting mess at a minimum. Your little one can even use a new pot to mix different paints and experiment with creating new colours.
Herb planters
Have you ever wondered why fresh herbs in pots from the supermarket wilt within a couple of days? The answer is that the plants are typically packed too tightly into their container, which doesn't give them the space they need to thrive and grow. There is a way to help these herbs last longer - divide them into smaller pots! Our little pots are perfect for this purpose. All you need to do is:
- Remove the herbs from their original pot.
- Separate them gently into smaller clumps.
- Plant them in individual Pots for Tots pots (you will need a little extra compost for this)
- To ensure that your herbs remain healthy, make sure to water them regularly and keep them in a spot with plenty of sunlight.
Top tip: Gardener's World has an excellent step-by-step guide on how to divide supermarket herbs!
Decorative Pots
Turning your used pots into decorations is a great toddler activity, especially when there is a festive theme involved! You could paint pumpkins or ghosts on the pots for Halloween, or even make your own hanging decorations for Christmas - simply pierce a hole in the bottom and thread a loop of string or ribbon through it if you want to hang them up.
Phone Pots
Looking for a fun activity to give your little one a break from screens? Why not revisit the tin-can telephone days of your own childhood:
- Pierce a hole in the bottom of two empty cardboard pots (do this yourself and keep sharp objects away from your tots!).
- Cut a piece of brown string to your desired length (we recommend at least a metre).
- Thread your string through both pots and tie in a knot at each end of the string to block it from slipping through, making sure that the knots are on the inside section of each pot.
- That’s it! Pull the string taught and let your little ones speak to each other through their new makeshift telephone - or get involved yourself!
We hope you have fun upcycling your pots! Make sure to tag us on Instagram if you give any of these ideas a go.