Think twice before recycling those cardboard tubesMia O’Hare Senior Spare Time Reporter and Ketsuda Phoutinane Spare Time Content Editor
06:04, 12 Apr 2026
There are a few good reasons to hold onto toilet rolls(Image: Getty)
Gardeners are being urged to hold onto one common household item this spring. As the weather starts to improve, plenty of people will be focusing on their outdoor areas.
It signals the time to head outside again and tidy up gardens ahead of the summer months. If you’re hoping to improve your own patch, you might want to think twice before throwing away one everyday product.
Gardening expert Ish, who posts tips and tricks on TikTok, maintains you should never bin cardboard toilet rolls as they offer a useful function in gardens.
While it might seem like an unlikely item for your outdoor space, it could turn out to be incredibly helpful. In footage shared on his @ gardening.with.ish account, Ish revealed three ways to use the humble loo roll, reports the Mirror.
First, he showed how they can be employed to make seedling pots. Because toilet rolls are made from thin cardboard, Ish described them as “fantastic” as they will naturally break down over the following months.
You can place the toilet rolls in a large tray or straight into the earth to protect seedlings.
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Ish added: “Now, if you’re trying to start to make your own compost, these work absolutely fantastic too. Simply just chuck the tubes in, and pile that down with layers of organic material.
“The worms absolutely love this stuff – it will break away and give you some pretty good compost.” Ensure our latest stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
“Cut up one of these tubes, and lay it flat on the ground, and all of a sudden you’ve got yourself a really good weed membrane and that, over the next few months, will slowly break down.
“But, while it’s been doing that, it’s protecting your plants from any weeds growing up,” Ish said. “You can also plant this underneath your plant beds, and that will also protect anything from growing through.”
While bright days lie ahead, there’s still a nip in the air. Loo rolls can even serve as insulation to shield plants.
Ish said: “It seems there’s not really any end of possibilities when it comes to things like cardboard tubes, and I’m sure I’ve missed some.”
His footage has attracted numerous comments from fellow gardeners who’ve offered their own tips on using toilet roll tubes in the garden.
One remarked: “I fill them with kitchen waste (veg, fruit, paper, egg shells etc) then dig into the garden beds when full.”
Another contributed: “I grow sweet peas in them as they like as long root run, magic.”
Someone else noted: “I sow runner beans and peas in them as they don’t like root when planting out.”
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