Most households use a significant amount of toilet paper and waste the leftover rolls — but a TikTok user found an ingenious way to repurpose them to start a garden.
The scoop
The TikTok account Grove&Green (@grovegreen) shared a short clip demonstrating how she used a mix of Tupperware and toilet paper rolls to create a small but bountiful garden of flowers.
@grovegreen If you want to grow cut flowers, there's no need to spend a fortune. In fact you can recycle toilet rolls and Tupperware/takeaway tubs to make the perfect root trainers! And what's more they can be planted straight into the ground for absolutely zero root disturbance and the tubs can be reused again and again! Simply fill each roll with compost, make a small hole and add a couple of seeds to each. Cover over and water well. You don't need a greenhouse, a sunny windowsill will be perfect. I'll be back with advice for pinching and planting in a few weeks time. There are some incredibly beautiful varieties out there, it's very hard to pick favourites but here's a few of mine. Bix Ballerina Blue Castlewellan Piggy Sue Emily Judith Wilkinson Kings Ransom I'd highly recommend purchasing direct from a specialist seed supplier for the freshest seed, the best chance of germination and healthiest blooms! For sweet peas my favourites are @englishsweetpeas @chilternseeds @alma.proust and Eagle Sweet Peas. Are you growing sweet peas this year? Let me know and we can grow together 💐
♬ original sound - Grove&Green
"If you want to grow cut flowers, there's no need to spend a fortune. In fact, you can recycle toilet rolls and Tupperware/takeaway tubs to make the perfect root trainers!" the post read.
The hack was simple: fill empty toilet paper rolls with compost, make a small hole in the center, and place seedlings inside the indentation.
Line them up in a Tupperware container and keep it on a sunny windowsill; ensuring they're moist will help the seeds grow.
One of the brilliant aspects of the hack is that, since most toilet paper rolls are made of cardboard and therefore will not disturb the soil, they can be planted directly in the ground.
How it's helping
This hack offers a variety of benefits for both garden health and the environment at large.
For one, it keeps discarded toilet paper rolls out of landfills, where they typically end up, encourages the reuse and recycling of common household waste, and saves you money.
Moreover, if you choose to plant them in the ground, that's actually good for the environment because cardboard is biodegradable and makes great mulch.
Toilet paper rolls have a variety of uses beyond gardening, too.
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Save $1,000 this year 💸 One pet owner used some to make a simple DIY toy for her dog, which delighted her pet. She saved money by not buying a toy and kept the roll out of the trash, killing two birds with one stone.
Helping people online become more aware of what they can and cannot recycle can inspire other users to adopt this kind of recycling more widely, whether for gardens or pets.
What everyone's saying
The comments were full of supportive and thankful feedback about the hack's simplicity and questions about the best methods to maximize yield.
"Thank you! My sweet peas are never great and I would love a scented variety in my garden," one commenter stated.
The original poster replied, explaining that starting early and using high-quality compost can go a long way.
They also recommended starting seedlings indoors to improve germination.
"I did this last year. A lot of [curries]," another commenter wrote.
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