Use locally available walnut shells to produce biodegradable plant pots to replace plastic in the packaging of succulents.
Long description
Around 3,760,000 tonnes of walnuts are produced worldwide each year, many of them are shelled and sold. Large quantities of walnut shells are disposed of by incineration – although they are biodegradable, since the high lignin content makes them difficult to degrade quickly in a typical composting environment.
But if we see it as a continuously generated raw material resource, the hardness can be an advantage. If the walnut shells are shredded into granules and then mixed with a bio-binder and shaped in a mould , they can make a pretty strong packaging material.
Walnut farms and the succulent industry are traditionally located in similar areas. Plant pots based on walnut shells can be a local alternative to plastic pots that are so widely used today for packaging plants that require only little water. The organic binder of walnut shell pots can last for months or even longer, as long as they are not filled with high humidity soil for long periods of time. The porous structure of walnut shells possesses good breathability and prevents succulent roots from rotting. You can also transplant them directly into your garden or into other containers without having to remove the plants from the pots, because they degrade in the soil after 1-2 years. The walnut shell granules and binder serve as organic matter, which is the very foundation for healthy and productive soils.
Moreover, this approach could be adjusted to package further products with other types of local nut shells.
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