How to be (almost) plastic-free in your garden

When Louise Boland found plastic litter all over her garden, it inspired her to write a book on the problems plastic creates globally

If you want to buy a more mature plant, the retailer may take the pot from you at the point of sale. Pictures: Alamy/PA

Wherever you look in garden centres, your shed or greenhouse, you are likely to find plastic in one form or another.

The most obvious include plastic pots, hosepipes, seed trays and watering cans, but there are also items which are less visible and which over time will disintegrate, leaving tiny plastic particles in their wake — ending up in the soil.