Reuse them when I make more wine

Use them as a vase.

Wash them, sanitize them, and then make more wine!

Bottles? All my wine comes out of a box

BlackCreekBearTRP1 wrote:Reuse them when I make more wine

This...

jimmygeek wrote:Wash them, sanitize them, and then make more wine!

And this...

Clayton4384 wrote:Bottles? All my wine comes out of a box

But maybe a tiny bit of this sometimes too ;)

1 in 4 people (at least by 10 a.m. statistics) throw them in the trash... how sad is that.

I used to keep a few, but then realized that they may have cool labels or the like, but they were just sitting in a closet.

So, into the recycle bin they go, with only one exception that I can't get rid of.

But throw them in the trash? No, no, no.

kashmirton wrote:1 in 4 people (at least by 10 a.m. statistics) throw them in the trash... how sad is that.

Not really sad considering the fact that so many glass bottles that get "recycled" go in the trash anyway. But you can feel good about trying. I heard it's the thought that counts.

coynedj wrote:I used to keep a few, but then realized that they may have cool labels or the like, but they were just sitting in a closet.

So, into the recycle bin they go, with only one exception that I can't get rid of.

But throw them in the trash? No, no, no.

Recycle.

So what bottle did you keep? I have a couple I've kept as well (Grange, El Nido).

otolith wrote:Recycle.

So what bottle did you keep? I have a couple I've kept as well (Grange, El Nido).

PM for you

Most of mine end up in the recycle bag, wherever that ends up. I do have a little shrine in my home office for very old and VERY special bottles.

kylemittskus wrote:Not really sad considering the fact that so many glass bottles that get "recycled" go in the trash anyway. But you can feel good about trying. I heard it's the thought that counts.

I know recycling companies usually throw out bottles with stelvin closures because it's such a pain to remove the metal on the neck and they can't be recycled with that still on them. However, I can't imagine that it would be beneficial to throw any other bottles away - can you elaborate?

BTW, I fill my bottles with grape coffee, recork them, and sell them to bums for $1...

EDIT: woot filters change "Cool-Aid" to "coffee", nice!

jhkey wrote:I know recycling companies usually throw out bottles with stelvin closures because it's such a pain to remove the metal on the neck and they can't be recycled with that still on them. However, I can't imagine that it would be beneficial to throw any other bottles away - can you elaborate?

I read somewhere -- I'm sure I could find it again if I went digging -- that a large number of bottles, both glass and plastic, go unrecycled because there are so many that people try to recycle, the processing plants can't keep up or it's not monetarily beneficial to do so.

Put them in a disturbingly huge pile of old wine bottles outside my back door.

kylemittskus wrote:I read somewhere -- I'm sure I could find it again if I went digging -- that a large number of bottles, both glass and plastic, go unrecycled because there are so many that people try to recycle, the processing plants can't keep up or it's not monetarily beneficial to do so.

Interesting. You've piqued my interest, I'll do some digging.

jhkey wrote:Interesting. You've peaked my interest, I'll do some digging.

IIRC, wine bottles in particular are largely not recycled. In CA, for example, they are worth $0 for trade-in.

kylemittskus wrote:IIRC, wine bottles in particular are largely not recycled. In CA, for example, they are worth $0 for trade-in.

Can you provide a reference on this point? It just doesn't make financial sense for recycling companies to spend the money picking up wine bottles (and the relatively heavy weight and bulk to transport them) if they weren't recycling them. They could just as easily ban them the way many ban steel cans or certain types of plastic.

jhkey wrote:Can you provide a reference on this point? It just doesn't make financial sense for recycling companies to spend the money picking up wine bottles (and the relatively heavy weight and bulk to transport them) if they weren't recycling them. They could just as easily ban them the way many ban steel cans or certain types of plastic.

Consumers pay California Redemption Value (CRV) when they purchase beverages from a retailer, and receive CRV refunds when they redeem the containers at a recycling center. Most beverages packaged in aluminum, glass, plastic and bi-metal containers are eligible for CRV. Notable exceptions are milk, wine and distilled spirits, which are not included in the CRV program.

The point of the CRV is to incentivize recycling. They don't care enough about wine bottles to include them in the CRV program. No reason is cited on the website.

kylemittskus wrote:The point of the CRV is to incentivize recycling. They don't care enough about wine bottles to include them in the CRV program. No reason is cited on the website.

But that doesn't mean that they are not recycled, it only means that the government didn't think it was worthwhile to include them in the program. I don't know about CA, but everywhere I have lived has had curbside recycling pickup, just like garbage. You don't get any money back for your collected items, but they are still recycled.

kylemittskus wrote:IIRC, wine bottles in particular are largely not recycled. In CA, for example, they are worth $0 for trade-in.

Some recyclers will accept them and pay-by-weight if an ~equal~ weight of CRV bottles (beer, soda) are included. Otherwise they just take them for nothing. Doesn't seem right...

rjquillin wrote:Some recyclers will accept them and pay-by-weight if an ~equal~ weight of CRV bottles (beer, soda) are included. Otherwise they just take them for nothing. Doesn't seem right...

But they still take them and recycle them. That was my only point. Wine bottles are recycled, but it sounds like people (in CA) are not paid to recycle them, they must choose to do it for other altruistic reasons...

Hey, here in the South we don't have any deposit or CRV programs. Any and all recycling we do is purely to reduce the consumption of natural resources.

My sister is making a chandelier out of them.

cmags17 wrote:My sister is making a chandelier out of them.

I'm quite shocked you're the only one who has mentioned making them into something else. I'm saving my up to do the same thing, as well as some glass cutting to make interesting vase/glasses/candle holders! Found a lot of great things through Pinterest.

kashmirton wrote:1 in 4 people (at least by 10 a.m. statistics) throw them in the trash... how sad is that.

I guess I'm surprised that are people who aren't recycling. We've been doing it here in Michigan for at least 15 years!

linshaff01 wrote:I guess I'm surprised that are people who aren't recycling. We've been doing it here in Michigan for at least 15 years!

Sorry! "that there are people....."

goddess8681 wrote:I'm quite shocked you're the only one who has mentioned making them into something else. I'm saving my up to do the same thing, as well as some glass cutting to make interesting vase/glasses/candle holders! Found a lot of great things through Pinterest.

Pinterest is great. Re-purposing is even better than recycling!

Shoot them!

I sell them for $6-8/doz.

I turn them into drinking glasses...pretty simple to do and kinda nifty.

Use them for target practice!

I put a candle in them and then melt my little sisters crayons on them so it drips down the side.......Sorry, I had a flash back to 1976.

jhkey wrote:But they still take them and recycle them. That was my only point. Wine bottles are recycled, but it sounds like people (in CA) are not paid to recycle them, they must choose to do it for other altruistic reasons...

Correct, not paid a redemption value.
I'm rather worried about some of the comments here about "saving". I have enough trouble finding space for those I purchase to consume, but to retain and find space for the empties...

Unless of course something like this is your plan

I happily throw them away. Except for notable bottles, those go in the hall of fame.

I live in southern California and we have curb side recycling and when the glass component gets to the transfer/sorting center it is diverted to the regular trash side of the system. They currently have no customers buying the glass.

BlackCreekBearTRP1 wrote:Reuse them when I make more wine

Same here.

jhkey wrote:I know recycling companies usually throw out bottles with stelvin closures because it's such a pain to remove the metal on the neck and they can't be recycled with that still on them. However, I can't imagine that it would be beneficial to throw any other bottles away - can you elaborate?

BTW, I fill my bottles with grape coffee, recork them, and sell them to bums for $1...

EDIT: woot filters change "Cool-Aid" to "coffee", nice!

lol!
but if you're not kidding you're a pencil

BlackCreekBearTRP1 wrote:Reuse them when I make more wine

This.

500ml and 375ml are saved and used to store wine for the next day.