How2Day: Toilets Used As Planters

If you love to recycle, reuse and repurpose old things to turn the obsolete into the artistic, you may not hesitate to use even the most unorthodox materials. Using an old toilet, for example, may not seem like a far-fetched way to spruce up your garden or front yard. Though typically regarded for their singular, intended purpose, toilets provide durable and resilient housing for things like potting plants. Be wary, however, that your neighbors may not be bowled over by the idea; some consider toilet gardens eyesores.

Creating a basic toilet garden is not particularly difficult. You must first find a suitable location in your yard to place the toilet, which you should have thoroughly scrubbed and sanitized. Place an obstruction in the bottom of the bowl at the drain, essentially turning the toilet bowl into a self-contained porcelain flower pot. From this point, treat it like any other flower pot: fill it with soil, plant your flowers or other plants and water it regularly. If you feel so inclined, you can also clean out the tank of the toilet and use it for plants as well.

Unfortunately, the use of toilets for growing plants is unorthodox and may not be appreciated by those around you. In 2009, for example, a woman in Lakemoor, Ill. faced fines after neighbors complained about her toilet planters. The woman, who displayed two toilet planters in her front yard, was given 30 days to remove the toilets before being fined. She took her case before a judge in early 2010, arguing that the toilets represented a form of constitutionally protected artistic expression, but the judge upheld the charges against her. Should you decide to create your own toilet planters, place them in a discrete location.

Though toilet planters are commonly created using out-of-commission toilets, pioneers in the field continue to develop new ideas for utilizing toilets to grow greens. Plumbing product company Eljer, for example, created a method in 1964 for integrating planters into the lids of toilet tanks. This type of planter utilized the clean water in the tank for feeding plants that stayed in a built-in container in the lid. While this type of lid is no longer available, modern do-it-yourself culture has adapted the idea of using the toilet tank's water to provide water for planters atop the lid.

How2Day