Turning Plastic Waste into Smart Watering Modules

While TAU scientists take steps toward defeating the pandemic, TAU students are creating solutions to save our environment.

Gabriel Godley, an undergraduate engineering student from South Africa together with other students Peter Pesov and Jalal Mashala created Pots Farms, a start-up to transform Tel Aviv into luscious green smart city. The start-up is pioneering a new carbon neutral plant delivery system and is turning plastic waste into smart watering modules. 

The day-to-day operations of Pots Farms is a seamless plant delivery by bicycles, in which Gabriel and his team attempt to increase the greenery in the city one plant at a time. The funds from the online plant store serve as the funding for purchasing equipment and space to produce recycled pots with the self-watering modules.

 “The core mission behind Pots Farms is to reduce plastic pollution and find a solution to world hunger” – says Gabriel. “We have created a beautiful self-watering Hydroponic pot from 100% Upcycled plastic bottles. We collect plastic bottles from individuals in the city and process them, cutting, refining and painting so they can serve as pots. Then, we install a wick watering system inside. A wick inside the pot curls around the roots and uses capillary action to pull water up while gravity pulls the water down onto the roots so the plants can drink. This is how the passive self-watering system works.

The device requires refilling only once every 3 months and self regulates the input of water to the plant. This is only the first step in our journey to making more plants, more easily available to more people. By pioneering a new way of monetizing recycling, we have created an economically incentivized method for people to become more eco-conscious, and that is the magic behind Pots Farms. Finding new fresh solutions to daunting problems.

It has been just a week since we launched the project and our pots have already covered the city of Tel Aviv with an extra 15.4 cubic metres of Green. That`s equivalent to 25 non-socially distancing humans! These new green spaces are contributing an extra 6.8 Kg of Oxygen into our TLV air making it easier for people to breathe. Finally, by using bikes for plants delivery, we saved 13.65 Kg of dangerous Carbon emissions from entering our atmosphere. We are very excited to see what future holds for us”.