For ages, wine has been a great part of our consumption. Its taste has left many people wanting more and has become an indispensable component in gatherings.
In fact, in today’s America, hardly can you find a formal gathering without some bottles of wine lurking around in a corner. Even in many restaurants, wines are a crucial part of the menu.
And without a doubt, there is nothing wrong with gulping down a few bottles of wine. Actually, several research studies have found drinking wine to have a couple of health benefits.
But as a wine aficionado, have you ever posed for a moment to consider what happens to the wine bottle after you siphon the last drop?
If you’re like most wine lovers, chances are you don’t, and this could mean a lot of damage to our planet.
America alone consumes large amounts of wine daily, so you can see where this is going. If no one does anything about wine bottles, given their consumption rate, we might soon have them in every block.
Well, this does not have to be the case. This is the 21st century, and there has been a lot of discussion about recycling used items. But the unclear part is whether wine bottles fall into any of the categories of things you can recycle.
In this post, you will find answers to the question “can you recycle wine bottles?” and many other related questions. Follow through on this post.
Can You Recycle Wine Bottles?
Although not many people consider it, wine bottles are recyclable! You read that right — you can recycle wine bottles. If you think about it, wine bottles are glass materials, and usually, glass materials are recyclable.
Therefore, in the instance that you notice many wine bottles in your home or office, you can relax knowing that you can recycle them, just like most glass materials!
However, there is one thing to note — recycling wine bottles is still not yet in its developed stage. This implies that your state might not have a collection policy specifically for wine bottles. So, confirm whether your state collects wine bottles for recycling.
If your state does not, don’t put the wine bottles in the recycling bin. Instead, look for other means to get rid of them. One of these means is by selling them off. Later in this post, we discussed how you could make money from your old wine bottles. Read on to gain insight into this.
Can You Put Wine Bottles in Recycling Bin?
The straight answer to this question is in the affirmative. Yes, you can put wine bottles in your recycling bin as long as your recycling center accepts glass. Remember that glass recycling is still not a widely spread practice, so first check with your recycling center before you send your wine bottles to the facility.
If the event your local recycling center accepts wine bottles, don’t just toss the wine bottles in the recycling bin. There are two things you should do before putting the wine bottles there.
First, you have to ensure that the wine bottles are empty. Recyclers have often noticed some quantity of wine in the bottles at their center. This introduces an unnecessary step in the recycling process that could easily be avoided.
Hence, before adding your wine bottles to the bin, ensure they’re completely empty. That way, the recycling center can take the glass straight to the sorting process without having first to empty the bottles containing wine.
Secondly, just before you toss your wine bottles into the recycling bin, remember your wine bottles are glass materials that can easily break. Thus, it would be better for you to get a strong plastic bag and put them in it. This would ensure that all your bottles are in a single place.
Besides, you will be helping the local recycling station by doing this. Next, when you have gathered enough empty bottles in your plastic bag, you can tie it. You can then take the bag outside and put it in your recycling bin.
Moreover, always ensure that you consider the size of your recycling bin. This will help you know how many bottles you can collect in your plastic bag.
Putting the plastic bag with the bottles in the recycling bin ensures no obstacle to its access. This is important for the local recyclers to have direct access when they come to get the recyclables.
These are the basic things you must do before putting your empty wine bottles in the recycling bin.
How To Recycle Wine Bottles?
Before you decide to recycle wine bottles, we’ve said that it would be best to confirm if your local recycling center accepts wine bottles. If it does, then you are free to recycle your wine bottles.
What you have to do is empty the contents of your wine bottles. You may decide to rinse the bottles to remove extra drops of wine. After this, gather the wine bottles and separate them according to their color.
You would have clear wine bottles, green wine bottles, and brown wine bottles, depending on the varieties you have.
After this, you can pack them in a plastic bag according to their color. Then you can drop it in your recycling bin outside, or take it to a designated place depending on the collection channel used by the recycling center.
Once the bottles get to the recycler, recycling begins by first sorting them again according to their criterion, and then crushing the bottles to form cullet. Cullet is pieces of glasses from crushed bottles.
After getting the cullet, the recyclers mix it with limestone and sand and put the mixture in their center’s furnace.
The furnace is always at a burning rate of at least 2,600 degrees and a maximum of 2800 degrees. Without this, the mixture of cullet, limestone, and sand may not melt.
When the mixture melts, recyclers use them to form new materials. Depending on the glasses’ quality, they can make tiles, new bottles, grave’s underlays, beads, and many more.
Can You Get Money For Empty Wine Bottles?
If you love wines, you would know that they are quite expensive. It is a luxury for many people to have some bottles of wine. But then, everything seems to come to an end after you empty the content of the wine. An average American thinks the bottle is useless.
For people who assume this, they are mistaken. Buying wines doesn’t have to always siphon money from your pocket; you can also make money from it.
But how do you do this?
Well, follow closely because that’s what I’m about to teach you.
Here are five steps to make money from your wine bottles:
1. Sorting: The first step is to sort. Sorting your wine bottles will allow you to know which ones are great to keep. Remember that wine bottles can serve in decoration purposes among many other areas.
2. Cleaning. Once you have sorted the bottles, just clean them to remove any contents of wine inside.
3. Put Up For Sale: After sorting and cleaning, you have to look up places to put your bottles for sale. With the wide spread growth of internet, there are many areas where you can find sellers, and a perfect example is eBay.
Using eBay, you can make between 7 cents and 80 cents on each bottle!
If, however, you have a fancy wine bottle, you can get better pay on each of them. The sale on eBay is often through an auction. So, you should sort the bottles into about one dozen before auctioning them.
4. Complete Your Transaction: Once you get a buyer and have struck a deal, complete the transaction and send the bottles to the buyer. You would have to package the bottles tightly.
Remember that in most cases, you will be responsible for all broken wine bottles. So, it will be in your right interest to package your wine bottles in a great way.
5. Consider Transportation: Lastly, you have to factor in what it will cost you to ship the bottles. This is essential if you are selling a large number of bottles and the buyer lives far away.
5 Clever Uses For Old Empty Wine Bottles
Having empty wine bottles in your home or office can be annoying sometimes. Often, you just want to get rid of everything. If not for anything, but for avoiding unplanned environmental hazards.
If you have some empty wine bottles, you don’t have to work yourself up about disposing of them. In your home or offices, you can put them to creative use. In this segment, we explain some great things you can do with your empty wine bottles. Follow through to get the full list.
1. Candle Holder
One of the easiest things to do with your empty wine bottles is to convert them into candle holders. You can use this to light up a room or for special occasions.
All you have to do is to get an empty wine bottle, clean it, and ensure that the bottle is dry. You can then put your candlestick in it.
However, you should ensure that your candle fits into the bottle tightly, so it does not fall into it. And remember that it would be best if you ensured that a larger part of the candle is outside.
With this, you can light your candle for special occasions. To make it fancier, you can spray the empty bottle of wine and decorate it the way you want. However, you should ensure that the spray paint is not flammable.
2. Make a Garden For Your Small Plants
One fancy way to decorate your home or office is by using your empty wine bottle to create a mini garden that will accommodate your plants.
The way to do this is by cutting a part of the bottle side. This is to help create enough room for soil and the plant. You can still leave your cork in the bottle when making this garden.
After this, pour some sand and put your small plants in it. You can place this indoor, but you should ensure that there is proper ventilation for the flower.
3. Make A Decorative Light Holder
You can use your empty wine bottles to make a decorative light holder for your home or office. You can also use it for a special occasion like anniversary celebrations.
The way to do this is by cutting the bottom part of your bottle. After this, get your light bulb and put it inside to pass the wire, holding it through the bottle mouth.
Next, you should hang the empty wine bottle and connect the bulb. You can give it a facelift by spraying the bottle slightly.
And remember, since you want to use it for decorations, ensure that you pick some fancy colors.
4. Make a Bird Feeder
Do you keep some birds in your home? Or do you cherish seeing birds flap their wings within the perimeter of your home? If yes, making a bird feeder can be a great way to keep the avian friends around, and wine bottles can come in handy here.
You can use your old wine bottle to make a bird feeder just how you make it using a plastic bottle. Find out how to make it here. Not only it would look beautiful in your garden but will also become home for birds.
5. Use It as Storage in Kitchen
An old wine bottle can be used to store small items like oil for your dishes or candy for kids. Just ensure that they’re clean before you repurpose them for either of these roles.
Conclusion
Wine bottles don’t have to litter your home or offices. As you have seen, you have many options. You can recycle them, make money off them, or use them for other creative uses. The choice is yours, but ensure that you put your empty wine bottles to good use.
