How to recycle foil coffee bags into planters
Do you like coffee as much as we do? If you don´t drink coffee-on-the-go and prefer to home brew your own coffee than you probably have empty foil lined coffee bags hanging around your house. At least you should keep them, as you can upcycle them in a great and easy way.
I always wondered what to make out of the coffee bag after it is empty. After all it´s waterproof and has a decent size. Most of the time they will be made out of plastic with foil lining. Now that spring is rolling in I have tons of plants on the balcony that needed a planter. And planters can be quiet expensive. So I thought about my foil coffee bags. They´re not so pretty when you look at the boring advertisement on the outside but the inside is always silver. So there is potential! Now this How-to-Tutorial could not be any easier. Let me show you how to turn foil lined coffee bags into DIY planters for inside and outside. This will probably take you 5 minutes and cost nothing. If you’re looking for another way to update an old planter you should check out our other tutorial.
Materials:
- foil lined coffee bag
- plant
- soil
All you have to do is cut open the top of the foil-lined coffee bag. I always have only a small slit to pour the beans in the coffee machine. But you want to be able to turn the bag inside out. So the bag has to be fully cut open. Make sure to turn it fully inside out and get into the edges at the bottom. That will give the bag a good hold and it won´t tip over as easy.
Now all you have to do is roll down the edges. I would roll them inside the bag so that the outside is plain silver. If you would roll them to the outside you might see some of the brown ad. Just roll them down as much as you need for the plant you want to put inside. After that you just have to plant inside whatever you prefer. You could also use it as a starter bag for vegetables or herbs for your balcony. From now on I will never throw them out again. And I hope you won´t either. 🙂
This is such a cool and useful idea. I will not abandon my coffee bag next time. Awesome upcycled coffee bag DIY projects you shared.
So glad you enjoy this tutorial 🙂
A brilliant idea, I have so many , I am now turning them inside out and taking to the kindergarten so the children can plant seedlings etc.
Dear Brenda,
Your comment made my day. What a wonderful idea to not only reduce waist but also teach kids about recycling!
Great idea! Especially useful in a pinch when you’ve got a plant & soil but no pot handy. And if you have to transport plants but worry about ceramic pots possibly getting cracked, you can re-pot the plants in these coffee bags for transport, then be able to properly pack ceramic pots for safety, flexibility, and compactness (e.g. one pot inside the other). Also, remove the thick plastic covered metal tie & save for use on plastic bags containing food–they’re much better & longer lasting than the paper twist-ties.
Lastly, there’s another use for these coffee bags–storing food! When I prepare bacon, I cook in batches & refrigerate so I don’t have to cook it often. I usually wrap in wax paper then tuck in a ziplock bag. But a reused coffee bag works even better (tougher material & there’s a breather hole).
Love the idea of storing food in them. Will have to give it a try. Thanks for the tip Gary! 🙂