Sustainability is a key factor in the development of new materials for plant pots, given the significant environmental impact of traditional plastic-based pots. Researchers have paid attention to developing biodegradable and sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based pots. In this study, two novel bioplastic formulations are developed, which incorporated soy-based by-product fractions to produce plant pots with self-fertilizing capability while also being cost-competitive. A 3D-printing process, fused filament fabrication, is used to produce plant containers from the filaments of soy-based new materials. Further, a small-scale greenhouse experiment is conducted to compare the performance of the soy-based 3D-printed bioplastic pots with pure polylactic acid (PLA) 3D-printed pots and traditional plastic pots, by growing a fruit-bearing plant (tomato) and a flowering plant (zinnia). Plant growth properties and root circling are analyzed, and the results show that the soy-based pots performed comparably to traditional plastic pots, especially in dry conditions, and also reduced root circling. While a more in-depth analysis is necessary, these initial findings suggest that using soy-based fractions and 3D-printing technology could provide a sustainable approach to developing plant pots, which could reduce the environmental impact of plastic-based containers and improve plant health.

In most cases, plant containers used in the horticulture industry are not reusable, have many negative impacts on the environment, and take a long time to degrade. To reduce the use of non-biodegradable plant containers, many bio-degradable plant containers have been developed for the horticulture industry. However, the full potential of the sustainability of plant containers is yet to be completely explored. Therefore, two novel biodegradable plant containers are developed in this research to effectively contribute to sustainability’s environmental, social, and economic dimensions. The two biocomposite formulations are developed by mixing soy hull and soy protein isolate (SPI) with polylactic acid (PLA) matrix for plant containers. In the first formulation, the proportion of PLA and soy hulls are 70 wt% and 30 wt%, respectively; in the second formulation, 65 wt% PLA is blended with 30 wt% soy hulls and 5 wt% SPI. The injection molding process is used to manufacture the plant containers from the two formulations. In a field trial, four plant species are grown in the novel plant containers along with polyethylene and commercial PLA/DDGS (dried distiller’s grains with solubles and PLA-based container) containers to investigate biodegradability and plant growth. The results show that the containers from the new formulations outperform existing biodegradable PLA/DDGS containers in terms of certain plant growth and biodegradability.