From milk bottles to wine bottles, baby food, mayo, juice, salsa, the list of products packaged in glass is never ending! Glass is very easy to recycle, yet the number of glass bottles thrown away each year could fill a giant skyscraper! It can take just one modern glass bottle more than 4000 years to decompose. According to Planet Green, recycling just one household glass bottle or jar can reduce air pollution by 20% and water pollution by 50%.
The best thing about glass is that it can be recycled endlessly without a loss in the quality of the material. Taking your glass items to a recycling point is an excellent way to get rid of it, but you can get creative in recycling them too!
Here are a few fun ways to repurpose your glass jars and bottles and turn them into beautiful and useful items for your home:
1. Garden Bottle Tree
This quirky piece of garden art has its roots in African folk art and has become popular across the United States. The tradition stems from the belief that the bottles trapped evil spirits to be destroyed as the sun’s rays pierced through the glass. You can either add the bottles to an existing tree in your garden or make your own DIY bottle tree. It’s a unique way to recycle glass bottles and adds a distinctive piece of homemade art into your garden.
2. Painted Candle Holders
Painted candle holders made from recycled glass jars are fun and easy to make, plus they look pretty! They are also a great art and craft activity to do with your kids. All you have to do is wash them, take off any labels, make sure they are dry, and then add paint!
3. Canister Set
Recycled glass bottles and jars make great storage for your pantry items, such as cereal, flour, and sugar. There’s no need to buy expensive canister sets when your jam jars and wide-mouth jars (like pickle jars) will do the trick! You can even get creative and make some labels from colored card, or add on little knobs to the lids.
4. Mini Terrarium
A terrarium is a collection of small, decorative plants growing in an enclosed glass bowl or container. You can create your own mini terrarium in almost any size of recycled glass jar or bottle, but the bigger the better!
Add in pebbles, activated charcoal, moss, soil, and the plants of your choice. It’s important to add the materials in the correct order so the soil stays healthy. Check the link for full instructions on how to make your own Terrarium.
5. Bottle Vase
Customize your old wine or liquor bottles to create beautiful and chic flower vases. The options are endless, so get crafty! You can paint them, go rustic by adding some twine, or go full on DIY and mount them to the wall. They can be a great centerpiece for your dining table and a conversation point for your dinner parties.