Woolly Grow™

projects

Jun 1

© 2021, Woolly Grow™. Designed by Bioregion Institute (Silje Klepsvik & Birgitta Ralston).

At Bioregion Institute, we are proud to introduce Woolly Pot — an organic and fully biodegradable plant pot crafted from downgraded wool and an algae-based biobinder. With Woolly Pot, we address the environmental challenges posed by plastic use and microplastic pollution in horticulture and cultivation. Woolly Pot™ has the goal of replacing the fossil based plastic pots in Norwegian horticulture and agriculture with compostable pots made of downgraded wool.

Large quantities of plastic pots are used in nursery pots in today's agriculture. According to the total estimate for agriculture, the consumption in 2019 of plastic pots was around 5,000 tons in Norway alone. (1)

Most fossil based pots are thrown away and burned after single time use, as they can not be recycled or reused due to the risk of transmitting plant diseases.

At a time when agricultural land is becoming less fertile with an increasingly poorer earth structure, and where more plant nutrients are found in limited quantities, it is necessary to think about circular systems and how we manage our sources of nutrition in ways that causes nutrients and organic matter to be recycled.

Recent research indicates that out of approximately 3.5–4.5 million kilograms of wool produced annually in Norway, around 1 million kilograms (about 20–28%) are classified as low value and get discarded or underutilized. This statistic refers specifically to Norway and is based on figures from 2022–2023. (2)

The downgraded wool is not suitable for the clothing industry and is not being utilized in other ways. Degraded wool is a nutritious resource that can be used in plant pots to reduce plastic consumption and provide nutrition to plants. (3)

Bioregion Institute has now received financial support from Handelens Miljøfond for a preproject to develop pots from downgraded wool. Together with NORSØK, Toppe Gartneri and Bybonden we are initiating this project in 2022 with the common goal to reduce plastic waste from Norwegian horticulture and agriculture.