In the ideal world, we only use materials that are fully biodegradable without harming the environment or nature. We are not there yet. The materials that do exist do not yet have the properties that make them suitable for all horticultural applications. So we opt for recycling there. If we can reuse raw materials endlessly, it helps reduce CO2 and the burden on nature and the environment is minimal.

The use of plastic for pots and containers in the horticultural sector is undergoing several developments. On the one hand, there is a search for good alternative materials that are fully biodegradable. On the other hand, the use of recycled plastic is now the norm. Van Tuijl is one of the trendsetting companies in these developments with bio-based paper pots for growing plants and the production of pots made 100% from its own recycled polypropylene.

In collaboration with our recycling partner, we collect used pots and process them into renewed, usable granulate. With that granulate, we can produce new pots, which thus consist of 100% recycled material. The challenge is to collect the waste streams in such a way that different types of plastic can be separated. In fact, for trays, we use recycled polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate. For pots and containers, we use polypropylene. This raw material is best suited for injection moulding of pots.

The pots collected from the horticultural sector do not currently provide sufficient volume for the production of our pots. Hence we supplement this with polypropylene recovered from post consumer (PCR) and post industrial (PIR) waste. This material often does not meet the food industry's strict requirements for recycled material, but it is perfectly suitable for applications in our sector. Residual materials in our own production process are also reused as raw material for the pots.

Our range of Vatuplast pots are fully recyclable and are manufactured from 100% recycled polypropylene and have therefore also received the official Cyclos-HTP certificate. In addition to the standard range, we can produce pots made of 100% recycled polypropylene in any desired design.