12 ideas to recycle glass jars

Glass is only really more environmentally friendly if it is properly recycled or, better yet, reused over and over again. Although It is made with natural raw materials, the new production requires temperatures of almost 1,600 ºC and therefore consumes a large amount of energy that is better saved.

The best thing about glass jars with screw caps is that you can use them for a long time and in many ways, be it for decoration, in the kitchen, or to store food. You can give it many different utilities.

12 ideas for smart recycling of screw-top glass jars

1. Store food

It is obvious that screw cap jars can still be used for what they were made for, that is, for storage. Are ideal for storing nuts, seeds, muesli, pasta or rice or to store leftovers in them. Tightly sealed, they offer the safest packaging against food moths.

2. Eating from the jar

The sandwich or salad in a plastic container is a thing of the past. Screw-top jars make great lunch containers in which you can enjoy soups, pasta, sandwiches or salads to go. However, to do this, you should test beforehand if the lid fits well, especially if you are carrying liquids or foods with sauces.

3. For jam, pesto, pickles…

If you are one of those who like to make your own jam, pesto, kimchi, chutney or cook vegetables and fruits, you can put those delicious homemade delicacies in glass jars with screw caps. For it It is important that you sterilize the jars, so that the food that they are going to contain can last in perfect condition for a long time.

4. Mason jars instead of freezer bags

If you don’t have a freezer bag handy, glass screw-top jars are a good alternative. You can freeze food scraps, fruits or vegetables.

When freezing, close the lid slightly, without pressing it. When the content is frozen, you can close it well if necessary.

if you’re freezing baby food, jars with a screw cap are particularly suitable. Then you can heat the porridge directly in a water bath after thawing.

5. Buy in bulk

With the screw-on jars you can go buy things at stores that sell in bulk. Whether rice, lentils, muesli, biscuits, detergent or cosmetics to fill. The jars are suitable as packaging for practically everything bought in these stores.

6. Give away the jars

In bulk stores they may be interested in keep your jars to sell their products to those people who do not bring their containers and want to give up cartons and bags. You can also gift them to family or friends who need them.

7. Make a salt shaker

You can turn an empty jar with a lid into a practical salt shaker or spice rack in a very short time. To do this, you only have to drill the cover with a fine metal drill. You can also use a nail.

Fill the clean jar with pepper, salt, or spices and screw the lid back on. It is now ready to use.

8. Enjoy desserts in mason jars

Serve the dessert in a screw-top jar. Chocolate mousse, pudding or tiramisu get a very special touch in a jar with a screw cap. You can even make mug cakes yourself in sturdy jars. Use heat-resistant baby food jars that are made to withstand high temperatures in the microwave.

9 To organize

Not only food, but also office accessories, craft utensils, small items in the toolbox or cosmetics can be stored in screw-top jars.

Label the jars or lids so you can see what’s inside at a glance. This way you can easily bring order to the kitchen, cellar, bathroom or office.

10. Seasonal decoration

Whether it’s Easter, autumn, Christmas or just on special occasions, mason jars They are perfect containers to create seasonal and festive environments. You can stick leaves in the jar, put colored tissue paper, sand, fabrics, dolls, pineapples… there are no limits to your imagination. You can also put sand or salt and with a tea light you will turn the jar into a lantern.

11. Use jars as vases

Don’t have a suitable vase at hand? You should only use a glass jar or an empty glass bottle if you have few flowers. Try to have several jars of different thicknesses for the different types of bouquet: small, large, with a few flowers, leafy…

You can use tear-resistant cord to create a beautiful hanging vase or hanging lantern in an empty glass jar. To do this, wrap the string around the neck of the jar several times, leaving a long piece to hang from. With two other short laces you can get it to hang perfectly straight.

12. Candles in a jar

You can easily make candles out of old jars. In addition to an old jar, you just need a wick and scraps of wax, beeswax or soy wax.

Elaboration:

Heat the wax in a water bath until liquid. Hold the wick in the glass with one hand so that it touches the bottom and sticks out a little at the top, and pour the warm wax into the glass with the other hand. Do not let go of the wick until the wax has hardened a bit.

Glass jars suitable for use with food

jars with screw cap they are not always completely free of plastic. The problem is in the cap. To make them fit snug, the inside is often lined with plastic film that may contain phthalates or BPA, plastic additives that can transfer to food and have endocrine-disrupting effects.

However, organic food manufacturers are increasingly turning to alternatives free of these harmful additives. Often there are also lids that are not treated with these potentially harmful substances.

How to remove labels from a glass jar

Labels are often difficult to remove and leave unsightly adhesive marks. But there is a simple trick: heat some cooking oil in a small saucepan and apply to the label with a kitchen brush. Then just rub with a cloth. Next, wash the glass well with liquid detergent and warm water.