Organize Your Garden with Recycled Trugs

In spring, one of my favorite things to do is to mess around in my garden while surrounded by blooming flowers. I love harvesting spring veggies, planting summer crops, and pulling weeds to keep everything looking tidy (of course). One thing I have learned in my short gardening career is the importance of quality tools! If I am not buying second hand, I try my best to choose tools that are sustainably made. Such is the case with these recycled trugs. 

Recycled Trugs

Recycled plastic or rubber trugs are a practical alternative to the traditional, wooden trugs. The rubber material makes them both lightweight and flexible. This makes recycled rubber trugs easy to carry, multipurpose garden tools. 

Tubtrugs Flexible Black Gorilla

Tubtrugs SP15GBK Flexible Black Gorilla Small Shallow 15 Liter/4 Gallon Capacity
  • 2 Comfort Grip Handles
  • Flexible Sides for Shaping Against a Wall or Floor
  • Reinforced Ribbing for Extra Strength

This Tubtrugs recycled trug comes in a wide variety of sizes from small (pictured above) to extra large. They are great for all kinds of tough tasks. They can be used to transport harvested flowers and veggies, as planters, or as garden tool storage. You can also use recycled trugs to transport soil, fire wood, weeds, compost, and more. The use cases are endless!

Infora Recycled Rubber Basket

Infora Classic Recycled Rubber Basket, for Wood Logs, Shoes or Blankets
  • Also great for storing blankets, toys and shoes
  • Features strong handles that are reinforced with metal rivets
  • Heavy-duty white stitching

This is perhaps a more stylish recycled trug or recycled rubber basket. You can keep it outdoors to store firewood or blankets. Keep it near your back door to store shoes – I use a woven shoe storage basket near our front door and it works perfectly for our family! A rubber, outdoor version would be fantastic for garden clogs and flip flops.  

Tierra Garden Recycled Plastic Trug

Tierra Garden GP43BLU Small Trug Recycled Plastic Planter, Blue
  • Trug Planter helps give potted plants, flowers or herbs a new, fresh look
  • Can also be used to carry garden tools and other supplies
  • Made of 100% recycled plastic; can be used indoors or out

This recycled plastic trug takes on the more traditional “trug” shape. It’s oblong with a top handle and can be used to transport flowers, herbs, potted plants, planting soil and more in the garden. 

The Origin of the Trug

Traditionally, a trug was an oblong basket made from strips of wood. The earliest known versions date back to the 1500s in Sussex. For this reason, traditional trugs are often referred to as “Sussex Trugs.” They were originally used for harvesting produce and measuring grain and were popularized in the 1800s when Queen Victoria purchased multiple for members of the Royal Family (source: Wikipedia).

Today, “trug” is a term more loosely used to describe vessels of many shapes, sizes, and materials. They are still used to store and transport materials in the garden. 

Why It’s Important to Choose Recycled

There are plenty of other rubber trugs on the market, why opt for recycled? The short answer is, it’s better for the environment. When shopping for anything in my home, I tend to first shop secondhand. If I can’t find what I need within my timeline, the next best option is an item made from recycled materials.

While recycling processes are improving, the majority of plastic products still end up in landfills (source: EPA). Choosing recycled trugs in this case is one small way of giving some of that discarded plastic/rubber material a new life.

Recycled trugs for organizing your garden

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