Potting mix a way to make office environment healthy

Fewer employees suffer from ailments when there are plants in their offices.

Potting mix may be the solution to some of the coughs, sneezes, headaches and depression suffered by office workers.

Research showed a pot plant 20cm or bigger could suck enough toxins from the air to make life easier for workers with a bit of greenery on their desks.

Dr Margaret Burchett and a team at University of Technology Sydney found the bacteria in potting mix absorbed harmful chemical compounds from plastic office furniture, computers, carpets and other sources, while the leaves sucked carbon dioxide that had travelled through the air conditioning from car exhausts.

Their most recent study found that three plants as small as 20cm could make a big improvement to the air quality in a dining room-sized, 12 square metre office.

In larger offices, a 20cm plant per desk was "probably fine", she said.

Dr Burchett has been involved with researching the effects of office plants for more than a decade.

It did not seem to matter what kind of plant you had or what potting mix as long as the soil was right for the plant.

Research showed office workers sneezed, coughed, suffered headaches and depression and "intended to quit" less often when indoor plants filtered the air, she said.