Part 3 Making the GYOP grow bags www.growyourownpotatoes.org.uk

From bag to bag – recycling This is the final stage of the process for making the Grow Your Own Potatoes grow bags out of the plastic we have watched being recycled. Do you know what this sign is? This means that packaging is able to be recycled and is therefore better for the environment. Watch out for this sign on your plastic at home.

Facts about recycling… Did you know…? 275,000 tonnes of plastic is used each year in the UK. 20 times more plastic is made and used today than 50 years ago. Most families throw away about 40kg of plastic per year, which could otherwise be re-cycled! Plastic can take up to 500 years to fully decompose (break down or rot)

Plastics from items such as carrier bags and bottles that end up in our oceans kill around 1,000,000 sea creatures each year. 1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a light bulb for 3 hours. The average household in the UK creates over a tonne of waste each year, which is about the weight of a small car. If rubbish isn’t recycled, it gets buried in the ground. This is called landfill. www.growyourownpotatoes.org.uk

Step three – Making your GYOP grow bags Here we see the finished rolls of plastic ready to go into the machine to be cut to size.

First the drainage holes are cut, this machine lines the plastic up…

… and cuts out the small holes. Can you see the bits of plastic that have been cut out?

These holes become the drainage holes in the bottom of the GYOP grow bags. They help the extra water drain out of the grow bags, so that the plants and soil don’t get water logged.

Once the drainage holes are in place, the bag can be cut to size and heat sealed across the bottom to stop the soil falling out.

The bags are now ready. A machine operator collects the bags into bundles, secures them with a band and puts them into a box ready for delivery.

Here you can see the machine operator randomly checking a bag Here you can see the machine operator randomly checking a bag. Making sure the holes are in the correct place on the grow bags. This is called quality control.

Here is the finished grow bag, ready to be delivered to your school for you to grow your potatoes in.

This is a pallet of GYOP bags waiting to be delivered to the distribution centre to go into your GYOP kits.

The End www.growyourownpotatoes.org.uk