Many people ask us, are our raised garden beds eco-friendly? They’re made from plastic, so can you really consider them sustainable? In this blog, we go over just what sustainability really means and why we think our plastic polypropylene garden beds are not just eco-friendly, they’re better than wood or corrugated iron garden beds. Intrigued? Wondering how that’s possible? Find out the Vegepod's eco-friendly points by reading below.

Sustainable?

Repost: Sally Obermeder

First things first, let’s decide on what sustainability really means, because in the marketing industry - sustainability is a very malleable term! A study from the Australian Institute shows failed first attempts were a significant barrier to home gardening. The lesson? If we want a happier, healthier Earth with fewer people relying on store bought veggies, we need to make home gardening as easy as possible. That’s why we strive to make our plastic Pod’s user friendly, durable and eco-friendly. Here's how.

Plastic vs Timber Raised Garden Beds

While timber looks beautiful, if it's untreated, the bed will only last two years max before rotting, making the payoff for home gardening low.

If the beds are treated, while the wood is more resilient to threats, it’s not immune. Treated wooden beds last a maximum of six years and they are, well, treated. This involves using harmful chemicals that can be toxic and absorbed by your veggies - not to mention the damage they do to the wider environment.

Treatments also make wooden raised garden beds a bad candidate for recycling.

Plastic vs Corrugated Iron Raised Garden Beds

Corrugated iron raised garden beds are similar in their environmental damage and eventually when they break down, rust and leach harmful chemicals into the soil. They can’t be recycled and in our opinion, most models on the market don’t work as well as the Vegepod.

Vegepod Plastic Pods Last 10 Years and Are Recyclable!

By contrast, Vegepod’s polypropylene plastic containers last 10 years, are 100% certifiably food safe and - once they’ve finished their lives - can be recycled so you can rest assured your Vegepod doesn't turn into harmful, toxic landfill.

User-Friendly

As we’ve mentioned, the Vegepod is 100% certifiably foodsafe due to its plastic base and garden cover. While we’d love to make Vegepod from eco-plastic (and it’s a goal for us one day!) we can’t guarantee the Pods are food-safe using third party eco-wood or eco-plastic batches. Other than that, our Pods are rot, insect, UV, and moisture resistant. The potting mix required is less than half of that typically needed for a raised timber bed of the same dimensions. Our beds are also self-watering and designed to reduce water use by up to 80% compared to standard timber and iron raised garden beds.

So what do you think? Are recyclable, low maintenance plastic beds more eco-friendly than wooden or corrugated iron? Did we change your mind? We'd love to hear from you! Let us know in the comments below your take on the most eco-friendly garden bed and why. Happy gardening!