How can I reuse or recycle bread bag tags?
We’ve had an email from Lyndall, saying:
hi, i was wondering if anybody knew what to do with bread tags. i hate throwing them away, but i don’t know what else to do with them. would welcome any suggestions.
We don’t really have them over here these days – shops seem to prefer those little sticky things that lose their stickiness (and therefore ability to seal the bag) after one opening but then still manage to attach themselves to your shoes/socks/cat and refuse to come off no matter how much you shake your foot/cat.
Anyway… bread tags/clips. I suspect they could just be reused as general plastic bag seals around the kitchen – but any other suggestions?
(Photo by Bando26)
Crafters use bread tags to wind spare threads and yarns on. Especially helpful for embroiderers and colorwork knitters.
I can vouch for this use as a knitter. I wind extra long tails to pieces of work on these tabs.
I have also used them as markers for coutning stitched and to keep yarn on a needle.
I remember using them in Kindergarden. We would count out 100 of them and then make them into different size piles (ie, 10s 20s 2s, 5s, etc.)
Poker chips!
I’m not sure how to reuse them, but I do know that they are color coded by day of the week of when the bread is delivered to the store.
You can remember that the colors in alphabetical order…
Blue = Monday
Green = Tuesday
Red = Wednesday
White = Thursday
Yellow = Friday
Guitar picks?
put some in an oatmeal container (in the u.s. they are cylindrical and made of cardboard)or the hollow cardboard bit from the end of wrapping paper, tape off the ends, and decorate the outside. voila– lovely noisemaker to send your nieces and nephews home with.
Martha Stewart said to write on them and attach to electrical cords, computer wires… so you would know what the wire was for. I’v tried it works good.
i keep a couple by the sink to scrape off hard cooked on bits of gunk on my dishes
You can also use them as little scrapers for getting gunk off of your stovetop. Perfect for me enameled stove.
Please break them before discarding so they won’t get caught on a bird beak or rodent foot!
I use them to seal plastic bags of food that I put in my freezer. That is very much the original use, but it means I almost never throw them away.
Put on the ends of rolls of parcel tape etc, you will never lose the end again
Good to replace board game items.. such as when you use counters etc?
Use them to label your electrical cords for your computer, TV/audio/etc. Saves tracing the wires back to the source.
A bread clip will hold a pair of socks together in the wash
These make excellent bookmarks. Just clip a few pages together.
Students, or young girls can paint these and use them as funky earrings
Keep rubber bands inside the clip bit of the tags. It stops them getting all over the drawer.
Spray paint these silver, gold, or green and use to hang Christmas tree lights
Dry pantyhose, stockings, hose, etc on a thin wire coat hanger. Simply attach them to the hanger with old bread bag clips.
I’m not sure you’re thinking of the tags because some of your suggestions don’t make sense
I love using them on cards or collages. It’s fun to find one with someones birthday and attach it to the ribbon on their gift. You can also apply glue, cover in patterned paper, and then cut around with exacto knife for an adorable tag. I’m sure they would be cute covered in glitter as well.
Use them as stitch markers. I use them all the time when crocheting. I just hook one of the ends on the stitch and keep on going. Use different colors for increases and decreases.
i use them for guitar picks & to hold (& mark) the end of a ball of yarn/string)
i made a lightweight picture frame out of reclaimed materials, using bread clips on the back as picture hangers. you have to glue a bit of cardboard to them so they stand away from the surface of the frame back and the ‘keyhole’ cut-out in the clip can sit on thumb tacks pushed into the wall. can you dig it?
YES! please be sure to break them in half when throwing out, so little animal feet don’t get caught!!!!
On some calendars the hall on top of the page rip where the nail is. Glue the tags on the back of each page so the hall on calendar and on a tag overlap ( opening of the tag down). Now there will be no ripped halls.
Secure Tomato plants, Grape vines etc. to arbor. Tie Christmas lights and other wires to keep them from tangeling.
Sorry that’s tie’s not tags.
i like the markers idea for knitting!
I have a use for the bread tags…marking flowers that are in bloom to determine over the season which ones to save the seeds.
My question is where can I buy them in bulk. Having friends, neighbors and relatives save them is not enough.
If anyone has any suggestions I would be very happy. Just email me!
Thanks
Audrey
I am like Audrey, I would also like to know where I can buy some of the plastic bread clips. If you all find some one that sells them please email me a blondie72032@yahoo.com.
I want to use them on my electric wires to electronic equipment and some other little project I am working on. Thank for your help. :)
Yes, those are all wonderful ideas, but can they be sent to recycling centers and melted down, or however they do it, to make other products?
Hi,
My name is Leigh Morgan, I am in the process of collecting various colours and dates of bread tags from around the world for an art project I am planning. I would so greatful to anyone who is prepared to send any amount of bread tags, I am more than happy to cover postage/shipping costs, as I m in Australia.
Thanks,
Leigh Morgan
Leigh,
I have a bundle looking for a home. Email me at orangeterra@gmail.com.
Hello Leigh,
We have collected these in a community recycling program and have a couple of bags of them. if you or anyone else wants them, email me on molly1990@internode.on.net
Trudy-Anne
I should have mentioned that i am in South Australia
My dad used one as a wine glass charm. Although, i’d probably decorate them first.
Hello to you all;
I am the UK distributor for these bread tags and I am amazed at some of the novel and innovative uses you have all come up with to reuse these products. I can answer one question which has come up – you can recycle these clips in with your plastic recycling system here in the UK – The closures are made from Polystyrol which is a category 4 plastic so if you run out of novel ways to use them then they can happily be recycled.