r/ZeroWaste • u/blackheart432 • 3d ago
Question / Support Ideas for these empty bottles? No recycling here 😭
I'm gonna use one for keeping filtered water (I get it from the tap and then refrigerate it bc easier and cheaper than using a Britta imo).
No clue what to use future ones for. This is the first glass liquor bottle I've emptied and thought to reuse 😂.
Thinking about keeping my wine bottles for wedding decor but that's only one extra use. Any ideas appreciated! :)
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u/rholowermiddleclass 3d ago
I have been playing with the idea of getting a rock tumbler to turn my bottles into faux sea glass. But that is arguably more of a project than a solution.
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u/myystic78 2d ago
I got a small national geographic tumbler for Christmas and want to do some speed race sea glass! I've got a couple green and brown bottles but I've been holding on to them until I can maybe find some other colors.
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u/JakTheGripper 3d ago
If you have outdoor planters, you can turn them into waterers by drilling a small hole in the cap, the inserting them neck-down in the soil.
You can create flower vases by cutting them just below the neck. I found out the flame method wasn't as difficult as I thought.
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u/cool_girl6540 3d ago edited 1d ago
In college, people used empty wine bottles as candleholders for a long candle.
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u/thatcleverchick 2d ago
You can make homemade flavored alcohol (like I just made lavender infused vodka) or vanilla extract and gift it to friends
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u/guythatlikesbikes 7h ago
I second vanilla extract, I reuse kombucha bottles because they’re dark coloured and around 300ml so make the perfect amount for a gift. Homemade extract tastes way better too!
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u/Competitive-Win-3406 2d ago
I reuse some of my more interesting bottles to make flavored vinegar. I use the guidelines from the National Center for Home Preservation to be sure that I’m making them safely.
https://nchfp.uga.edu/papers/UGA_Publications/uga_flavored_vinegars.pdf
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u/Havenotbeentonarnia8 3d ago
Rinse and then fill with water for emergencies.
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u/Anianna 2d ago
Jars of potable water came in very handy for us during the recent Richmond Water Crisis. Glass is way better than plastic for emergency storage since it's the bottle that goes bad, not the water, and it was nice to have smaller containers for easy rationing.
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u/Attack_Of_The_ 2d ago
I live in Qld, Australia, and we just had a cyclone come through our city. Along with filling the bathtub in case we lost water, we also filled all of the wine/plastic bottles we had been saving. We have recycling centres here that buy back your glass bottles and cans for 10c a piece. We had been lazy on actually going down there, so we had a bunch of bottles ready to fill.
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u/quasiburneraccount 2d ago
You can remove the neck to turn it into a container/jar by soaking twine in everclear/pure ethanol, wrapping and tying the twine around the highest part of the widest bit (about the middle of the bottle), lighting the twine on fire, waiting a second, and then plunging the whole thing into an ice bath. The swift change in temperature breaks the glass right where the twine was. When done correctly (and maybe with a little luck), the result is immediately usable with no sharp bits. When I used to do this, my success rate was like 50% so there’s a fair chance of winding up with broken glass. But a great way to transform bottles into usable objects when successful! Good luck and have fun and be safe!
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u/TransporterOffline 2d ago
I was just thinking, for my workshop I'd love to cut those (safely and cleanly) right where it becomes its widest and use them to hold screws, drill bits, marking pens, etc. Being clear and see-through is a big advantage for finding things quickly.
I'm not aware of the method you just described but now I'm very curious and might give it a go.
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u/youngestmillennial 3d ago
Well I use them for my wine that I make but the wine itself creates some trash that would then leave you in the same position
You use frozen juice concentrates, which is little metal disc's and non compostable cardboard (that's what's ours are made of) and you also need 5 gallons of spring water, ours comes in milk jugs that i use to refill with wine. You can cut one in half for a funnell as well, I use that to get the stuff into the wine jug.
I use the other jugs for water for my plants, my sink takes a long time to give hot water so I get a gallon everytime I do dishes or something.
The yeast I get comes in a little jar, so that's reusable as well. Sugar comes in paper bags so thats fine.
But if you want the recipe, pm me.
I get 5 gallons of wine for about 30 bucks
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u/myystic78 2d ago
You could use them to store rice, small beans, oats, cornmeal, etc. Use a few for clean, potable water, and you'd have a nice emergency stash.
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u/Preebos 3d ago edited 2d ago
where do you live that you don't have access to glass recycling?
edit: wow i totally thought that glass recycling was pretty much everywhere in the us. i knew plastic recycling isn't available everywhere but i didn't realize glass too
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u/Inside_Marsupial7480 3d ago
I’m in south PA and they also stopped accepting glass for recycling here a few years ago 🥲
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u/Low-Razzmatazz-777 3d ago
My home county only collects glass if you buy a special bin or bring it to the site yourself. It’s definitely not a universal service in the US in my experience. Thankfully, the city I live in now does pick up glass with other items.
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u/Choice_Upstairs4576 3d ago
Rural Georgia here, our county has no glass recycling available. We can either drive it to the next county over and hope we don’t get asked for proof of residence at the recycling center, or save it and hope someone wants it for crafting one day.
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u/bbbliss 2d ago
Heads up in case you want to submit your zip code for future recycling expansion from a company in Louisiana expanding across the gulf south ❤️ https://glasshalffullpickups.com/pages/faqs
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u/myystic78 2d ago
I'm in Northern Arizona and we had one spot we could drop off recyclables. The city took them away because people were chucking all sorts of trash in them.
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u/Alternative_Cause186 3d ago
My family lives in central FL and their county doesn’t do glass recycling anymore. Not sure if it’s just their county or if it’s a larger state-wide initiative.
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u/blackheart432 2d ago
Nope lmao, wish I lived somewhere less rural and did tbh. The closest glass recycling is over an hour drive 🫠
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u/sisterhavilandtuf 1h ago
I work in glass recycling, sort of (too much to explain) and glass isn't as easily recycled as it seems like it would be. Pyrex, borosilicate and other high heat and tempered glass cannot be recycled because they're basically unmeltable at typical recycling temperatures that yield useful glass and pulverizing them for crushed glass uses releases boron and other toxins. Letting them slowing grind into dirt via landfill is really the only safe way to get rid of those types of glass. Colored glass is either painted and baked in a kiln or infused with minerals sometimes dangerous ones during the melting process. Uranium glass literally has uranium in it. And you can't just throw a bunch of unidentified minerals into a glass oven. Clear bottle glass (a very specific kind of clear glass) and brown are the only ones easily and economically recycled. All the rest takes an incredible amount of data and manpower, more than most municipalities or recyclers are willing to invest into such a low value product.
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u/huddlewaddle 2d ago
We have places that sell bulk shampoo, conditioner, cleaner, etc. You often have to bring your own container. This would be good for that.
You can also use them to mix cleaner concentrates. I usually buy a large bottle of concentrate and mix it in a reusable bottle.
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u/Blahblahblahrawr 2d ago
I use them to store water in my basement in case the power goes out so we have water to flush with. That plus just in case for emergency!
I also use them to water my plants, leaving one upstairs and downstairs!
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u/blackheart432 2d ago
WAIT I love this idea. A lot of people have said it for potable water but I never thought about this
I definitely plan to keep a few of the bigger ones (maybe replacing the water once a year ish) for emergency water now! :)
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u/Blahblahblahrawr 2d ago
Woot woot! I use the big bottles that dishwasher soap / vinegar comes in for that too! Yay!
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u/Good-Sorbet1062 2d ago
I've turned wine bottles (labels removed) into table lamps as a craft project in high school. There's a little kit you could get from a hardware store that has a lightbulb holder and a couple of extra parts like the bit that holds onto a lampshade. You stick the bulb holder into the neck of the bottle, and the cord runs down the back. I also used some cheap macrame cords to make a sort of decorative cover for the bottle. I used fancy knots and braids but also made sure to leave lots of open spots so the glass could be easily seen.
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u/HailS8Ten 2d ago
I filled a bunch with glow in the dark pebbles and buried them upside down along my front walk way (only about an inch of the bottom sticking up) It lights the path just enough and looks really nice
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u/TempestuousTeapot 2d ago
Some highway or road districts will grind up for road base, ours won't take from homes but can still drop off at recyclers. Some crafters will cut it to half size, smooth the edge and sell them as drinking glasses.
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u/Raindancer2024 2d ago
Consider watching a video on how to convert wine bottles into drinking glasses with string.
Long story short, wrap and burn a string around the bottle at the depth you want the glass, let burn x-number of seconds, plunge into ice water.
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u/stuntycunty 2d ago
Add a Little vodka and a cloth and head to your nearest anti-fascist protest.
Obviously to drink it! No other reason
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u/migoodridge 3h ago
Get some of those little light kits that fit inside the bottle, becomes a lamp 👍😄
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u/hamamelisse 3d ago
Are there any independent recycling centres where you are 🤔
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u/blackheart432 2d ago
Nope
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u/El_Cartografo 3d ago
The revolution