45 replies to this topic

[Anna T]

There is nowhere to recycle glass in my area. And this poses a problem for me because I buy a lot of natural, organic products and many of these come packaged in glass rather than plastic. I try to upcycle all I can and wash these out to use for storing other food, but I've ended up with far more glass than I really need!

Any other ideas on what I could do with these? Also, is there some type of directory I could access that would give me listings on the nearest places to recycle glass in my area? I'd be willing to travel a bit just to get rid of some of it. I feel so guilty to just throw it in the garbage.

[4leafclover]

If you are creative enough, try breaking them into pieces then create it into a wonderful wall mosaic! :) If all of them are tinted glasses you can play with its colors, if they are clear glass jars try to put colored cellophane on the background so the color would show. Of course, be careful with the broken glasses! :) I

[btatro]

Perhaps there is someone in your area that would like them? Do you have a way of posting an add either online or in a newspaper, letting people know what you have and are willing to give away? Some people make beautiful things out of glass!

http://www.google.co...,r:4,s:18,i:187

[Anna T]

Those are both excellent ideas! The mosaic sounds like it would be beautiful, but I'd have to find time to do it when the kids aren't around because I'd be worried about them getting cut.

Shifter, I had not thought of posting an ad that I have glass jars to spare. There may actually be people who have a real need for them. Thank you!

[angeldrb]

I came across this really interesting page on ways to reuse glass jars:

http://www.savingadv...-glass-jar.html

Glasses: I’ve been in several restaurants where the beverages were served in Mason jars. It brings a country feel to the meal and it’s a cheap source of glassware. A plus: Jars are harder to break than fine glassware.

Vases: A big jar makes a great vase, especially if you tie a ribbon around it or decorate it in some way.

Gifts Maybe you make a great sauce, jam, or dip. Make your best recipe, put it in a jar, and give it away.

Paint uses: When the kids (or you) want to paint, fill an old jar with water and use it to rinse of the brushes between colors. You can also use a small jar to store opened paints for later use.

Organizers: Big or small jars can be used to store everything from paper clips to bulk food items. You can use a big jar as a pencil holder on your desk, too.

Bug houses: When the kids want to catch fireflies, caterpillars, or other creepy crawlies, use old jars as bug homes. Just don’t forget to punch holes in the lids so the poor bugs can breathe.

Piggy bank: Cut a slit in the lid wide and long enough to accommodate money and you have an instant piggy bank.

Decorative display: Maybe you have some seashells you want to display. Put some sand in the bottom of the jar, drop in the shells and you have an instant reminder of your beach vacation. You can do a similar project with dried flowers from a wedding, matchbook covers from your travels, potpourri, or any other small object that you value.

Picture frame: Roll the picture, stick it in the jar and let it unroll. When it conforms to the shape of the jar, you have an interesting picture frame.

Votive candle holder: Baby food jars are great for holding small votive candles.

Planter: Put some small pebbles in the bottom of the jar to help absorb excess water. Add in some soil and then plant herbs or small flowers. Put it on a windowsill or sunny desk and you have an instant garden.

Rolling pin: A large jar makes a great rolling pin in a pinch. Just don’t press down so hard that you shatter the jar in your hand.

Keep things fresher: Many things we buy come in packages that allow them to go stale rather quickly. Take your items out of their original packages and put them into jars. This works great for pet treats, snack foods, cereal, and baking items like sugar, flour, and salt.

Holiday craft projects: You can put a Jack-o-lantern face on a jar and light it with a candle at Halloween. You can put ears on a baby food jar and make an Easter bunny. You can decorate a jar with Christmas designs and set it out filled with Christmas candy. Use your imagination and turn your old jars into festive holiday projects.

[zararina]

I used glass jars as storage for my small collections or items like buttons and coins. Those glass jars can be used too in creating decors. And if you do not like to create decors from them, you can give it to those who creates decors or to some institutions that recycle those items.

[MakingCents]

Seriously consider putting them on ebay?  There may be people who either can get paid to recycle them that would be willing to buy them or people who are looking for jars for canning or crafting that would rather buy them second hand cheaply then at a craft store.

[Anna T]

Wow, you guys have given me a ton of ideas! I had never even considered possibly selling them.

I do occasionally use them for food storage. There are some things, like onion and tomato that I have cut open, that I don't like storing in plastic baggies back in the fridge. So if I have some glass, I'll just drop them in those and close the lid. It does help things stay fresher longer.

[saver]

Great thing about eBay is chance to look at other people sales, you can get a good idea of asking price from these sort of things.

[mariaandrea]

I use them for everything. In fact, I never have enough. I store leftovers in them, pens and pencils, art supplies, office supplies and use them as vases for flowers and as candle holders, among other things. Make a table centerpiece with tea lights and votive candles in a group of jars. Rustic, pretty and practical.

But, you should check to see if freecycle.org has a group in your area. If they do, once you put them on there, they'll be gone in a flash, most likely. The whole point of the group is to keep things out of landfills, and I've given away lots of stuff and received even more from them, including 4 new dining room chairs, a stereo, rugs, mirrors, spices, garden tomatoes - all sorts of stuff, big and small. There are groups all over the world

http://www.freecycle.org/

[dconklin]

Wow, some great ideas here! All of the ways that I use them is listed above.  Except for grease jars.  I always have a jar at the sink to dump my grease into from cooking.  I don't go through many this way as it takes me a while to fill up one jar.  When the jar is full, I then throw it out.  Not that I like throwing out glass, but I do use it to prevent grease from going down the drain and causing problems.

We can recycle everything here tho, so quite often my jars go into the recycling.

[MakingCents]

mariaandrea, on 16 April 2012 - 10:30 AM, said:

I use them for everything. In fact, I never have enough. I store leftovers in them, pens and pencils, art supplies, office supplies and use them as vases for flowers and as candle holders, among other things. Make a table centerpiece with tea lights and votive candles in a group of jars. Rustic, pretty and practical.

But, you should check to see if freecycle.org has a group in your area. If they do, once you put them on there, they'll be gone in a flash, most likely. The whole point of the group is to keep things out of landfills, and I've given away lots of stuff and received even more from them, including 4 new dining room chairs, a stereo, rugs, mirrors, spices, garden tomatoes - all sorts of stuff, big and small. There are groups all over the world

http://www.freecycle.org/

How is this the first that I am hearing of this group?  What a cool idea and great website!  They do have a group in my area, I will definitely be looking into it from now on!

[MyDigitalpoint]

Glass is easy to reuse rather than recycle.

While you can always try to find a local junk shop, recycling centers or individual that buys glass, usually announced in the classified ads, the best way to recycle glass is reusing it as in example following some of the suggestions already posted by angeldrb, and doing an online research for many other uses.

[steph84]

I save jars for gifting. I have a garden and like to make my own jams. I'm always looking for jars and stuff to use for Christmas gifts. I like to make picnic basket gift sets and fill them with my homemade jams. They are a hit. I'm sure you can sell them online too.

[MyDigitalpoint]

Incidentally I found these interesting videos on how to reuse glass jars,

[aphil]

These are some great ideas on using glass jars. If you still have some left over after these uses, you can always advertise that you have them for others who may want and need them. There also may be some stores/shops that could make good use of them.

[ACSAPA]

I love glass jars too. I mostly use mine for ordinary things, like storing coffee, sugar and flour or my art supplies. But I found this cool blog article that shows 50 different ways to use glass jars, some of which I wish I'd though of sooner. Who knew you could make supermarket jars look this cute?

http://myosowonderfu...mason-jars.html

[dissn_it]

There are some really cool ideas on this thread. I have been using them to store pasta, sugar, flour, cornstarch and such but now I have a lot more new ways to reuse them.

[Pat]

I save jars for storage of food that comes in those bags that break open.  I have also used them for plants when I get new ones.

[Sandra Piddock]

ACSAPA, on 14 August 2012 - 11:17 PM, said:

I love glass jars too. I mostly use mine for ordinary things, like storing coffee, sugar and flour or my art supplies. But I found this cool blog article that shows 50 different ways to use glass jars, some of which I wish I'd though of sooner. Who knew you could make supermarket jars look this cute?

http://myosowonderfu...mason-jars.html

There are some excellent ideas there - I particularly liked the hanging lanterns. With citronella candles, this is a great way to keep the bugs at bay when you sit outside at night. Or hang several lanterns in a tree to give more light in a dark garden. The glass jar chandeliers were pretty neat as well, and they'd certainly use up a lot of jars in one go.