I personally would stay far away from asbestos. Bad news, not worth it in my opinion. Is asbestos even used in the US anymore? I don't even know!

what if you painted them with dryloc. the stuff they use to seal basement walls.

One vote for chucking them, one for painting with dryloc.
Check.

Any others? It's planting week here, Spring has sprung in earnest! Thanks.

Bumping this question up, as I hope there might be more answers. I'm probably going to try the paint this week. Scrape them out, wash them down with a hose, let dry, paint, let dry again, fill with soil and plant flowers. Unless of course someone tells me I'm out of my mind.
Peace, Batya

If you scrape them be sure to wear a mask to filter any particles released by cleaning. Asbestos isn't a problem until you expose it.

can any one tell me if I should be worried. I live in an apartment comples with asbestos in it since the building was erected in the early 70's. I went to the huge trash bin out back and some one had left a pile of trash bags outside since the trash bin was over its limit. I decided to throw the bags in the bin since the garbage had already been picked up. I noticed they had white dust on them and it completely freaked me out when the white dust blew up in the air when I moved the bag. Should I be worried about exposure to asbestos? There is also a huge tree on the other side of the wall that gives off alot of debree but the dust looked white in color. I have no idea what asbestos looks like or what color it is. I immediately came in and washed my hands and arms as well as legs since I was wearing shorts. I am seriously worried.

Asbestos is heavily regulated in the US now. It is unlikely that the dust you saw was asbestos. It doesn't form noticeable dust unless old structures are being demolished, and you would be aware of that.

If you are concerned you might try calling the local health department EPA office.

As for limited exposure to absestos for a few minutes its not a big deal. If you get over 8 hrs exposure at once it could cause problems down the road (many yrs most of time it 30yr later). Some people it bothers and some it doesn't. I was an insulator local#27 absestos worker local # 27 kc mo.
We have member that dies as young as 50 and guys that are still alive at 90.It has been outlawed for use snce 1978. There was a big push in the 90's and early 2000's to remove it from most buildings. Asbests used in siding and floor tile is no big deal until it become friable. Bottom line is don't drill or sand on it or you won't have a problem. But as for me why have anything asbestos around if you can get something out that asbestos free

Don't even listen to any advice on scraping them down unless you are willing to risk developing mesothelioma at some point. You got suckered in. It costs serious money to abate and dispose of asbestos containing material. Whoever called you is not a friend and if he is in a business, he just saved himself a lot of money. Now that you know those pots have asbestos, you can't just throw them out and EPA can slap you with a hefty fine (in thousands of dollars). Wher pots too good to be true???? They always are.

BTW asbestos was not "outlawed" in 1978. It is still used today in some construction material, and you can see it in many stores under generic names such as Crocidolite, Amosite, and Chrysotile. Guess what, your brakes and clutches still have asbestos. So do some vinyl tiles.