How to grow plants from your old comics

Everyone wants to do something good for the environment but it's worth taking a leaf out of Tokyo-based artist Koshi Kawachi's book, or rather his manga magazines.

Kawachi's concept is simple: take an old comic, place it upright in the sunlight, sprinkle some seeds on top, then just add water. After a few days tiny sprouts should appear between the printed pages. Recently the artist created a whole installation of these manga plants for the Matsuzakaya department store in Nagoya, Japan.

This creative idea opens a whole new chapter of possibilities for paper recycling and agriculture. According to a recent study by the United States Department of Agriculture pulp and paper waste could potentially be a wonderful fertilizer.

So reuse your old faded comics and follow Kawachi's example to create your own Manga Farm.

Follow the link to 1-800 Recycling.com for more information.