Old clear plastic storage bins as cold frames in the garden

[moolie]

AND im going to steal your idea because im going to plant pineapples and that would work well in winter to keep them safe

I am going to throw stones! CLEAR plastic is usually strynene (spelled wrong) it tends to get brittle when exposed to sunlight. The stuff that replaces glass is polycarbonate but expensive for totes. clear plastic soda bottles are PET but that only works well for blow molding. Yep I use stryene for SHORT TERM cold protection but not fpr long.~gd

Hm, the large clear plastic totes that I have are all labeled 5 PP for Polypropylene, which is a pretty darn stable plastic. Styrene is usually used, in my experience, for food takeout containers. But perhaps it's different in the US.

Whatever totes you have, check the label/recycling number and read up on that type of plastic

 

[~gd]

AND im going to steal your idea because im going to plant pineapples and that would work well in winter to keep them safe

I am going to throw stones! CLEAR plastic is usually strynene (spelled wrong) it tends to get brittle when exposed to sunlight. The stuff that replaces glass is polycarbonate but expensive for totes. clear plastic soda bottles are PET but that only works well for blow molding. Yep I use stryene for SHORT TERM cold protection but not fpr long.~gd

Hm, the large clear plastic totes that I have are all labeled 5 PP for Polypropylene, which is a pretty darn stable plastic. Styrene is usually used, in my experience, for food takeout containers. But perhaps it's different in the US. Polypropylene is reasonably economical, and can be made translucent when uncolored but is not as readily made transparent as polystyrene, acrylic, or certain other plastics. It is often opaque or colored using pigments. Polypropylene has good resistance to fatigue. So what does CLEAR mean whereever you are? Polystyrene Foam used to have heavy use as takeout containers in the US but the Green movement pressered the national chains back to paper products with polymer coatings. The foam could be recycled The combo containers not but Phony science won out again, thats progress!~gd
]

Whatever totes you have, check the label/recycling number and read up on that type of plastic

 

[moolie]

Hi ~gd

I think you may misunderstand what people in this thread are talking about, they are talking about
clear (perhaps you call it translucent, but it's "clearer" than the plastic covering on my greenhouse)
plastic storage totes--like this:

It's an exercise in frugality and re-using something for a new purpose, I'm sure no one is super concerned
about what kinds of plastic might be best for the job. "Throwing stones" at someone's cold frame, even in
jest, is pretty counter-productive to the conversation.

The kind of takeaway container I'm talking about is not polystyrene foam, but #6 styrene plastic--
like what disposable plastic cutlery and other disposable and takeaway containers are made of:

And yes, it is very brittle, even before sun exposure. So they don't make totes out of it.