The Recycle This Guide to Recycling Baby Stuff
Because they frequently have goo coming out of both ends, outgrow things really fast and change their physical, mental and culinary requirements every few weeks, it all too easy to create a little mountain of rubbish around a baby.
Here are some handy ideas for reusing and recycling random baby related things – nothing too time consuming or complicated, because chances are, if you’re thinking about baby stuff, you’ve probably not got that much time of your hands at the moment ;)
- Want to reuse or recycle something baby related that isn’t mentioned on here? Just let me know and I’ll add it to the site.
How can I reuse or recycle baby food jars?
- Most baby food jars tend to be glass so they can be recycled along with your other glass bottles and jars. Remember to remove the lid first though and recycle that with your usual metal/plastic (as appropriate) recycling.
- If you’d prefer to reuse them though, how about screwing/nailing the lid to the underside of a shelf? you can then screw the jar in and out of the lid as needed. Perfect for storing other nails & screws, fuses or even seeds.
- If you’d prefer to do something more crafty with them, they are a perfect size for transforming into a mini sewing kit with built in pin cushion. Very cute indeed.
- More suggestions
How can I reuse or recycle measuring scoops/spoons from baby formula cartons?
- Though plastic, most manufacturers (that I spoke to about it) say their spoons aren’t recyclable – but if the type of plastic is identified on the spoon (by a number in a triangle or the like), you might be able to recycle it with your usual plastic stuff – different areas have facilities to offer different types of plastics so check with your council.
- Aside from measuring baby formula, they’re perfect for measuring other things around the kitchen too – so keep a few around for measuring out small quantities of flour, baking powder, loose tea/coffee, spices etc. If you’ve got loads of spoons, each thing could have its own dedicated spoon! Bigger ones can be used as washing powder scoops too.
- Flat bottomed scoops might be useful as little tiny pots for crafters: use them to hold seed beads or findings, or small quantities of paint or glue when you don’t need more than a few dabs at a time.
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How can I reuse or recycle babies’ bottles?
- These days babies’ bottles tend to be made from an “unbreakable” plastic for safety reasons – depending on the recycling schemes in your area, you might be able to recycle it with your usual bottles and jars (different areas recycle types of plastic). Remember to remove the lid and teat first though – that’s usually a different type of plastic.
- Reusing them around the home is pretty easy too though: take advantage of the non-spill teat-top and use it as a oil bottle for use on squeaky doors; or fill them with paint for kids’ art sessions.
- Or to reuse them for their original purpose, local children’s charities might take them for sterilisation & redistribution to new mums in need, or ask at your local animal shelter to see if they need bottles for hand-rearing animals.
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How can I reuse or recycle hard plastic baby wipe containers?
- It’s super easy to “reduce” these even if you want to keep buying baby wipes: just buy one hard pack and get refill packs from then on.
- The plastic container might be recyclable with the rest of your plastic. Check the bottom of the box for a number. Again, the lid might be a different type of plastic so check that too just in case.
- Once emptied of wipes, the plastic box has a number of handy uses around the home: because it’s water resistant and solid, it would be perfect as a home for a first aid kit or a small emergency kit, or for storing photographs or important documents in.
- They’re also reasonably light considering how crush resistant they are, so would be great for posting fragile items through the post.
- More suggestions
More baby related items
- How can I reuse or recycle babies’ dummies/pacifiers?
- How can I reuse or recycle disposable nappies/diapers?
- How can I reuse or recycle mixed material baby milk containers?
- How can I reuse or recycle a damaged baby car seat?
- All the posts in our “reusing and recycling baby stuff” category
(Baby photo at the top by John Leach – our niece Mia ;) )
Most brands of baby wipes have just the wipes without the plastic container for sale, so there wouldn’t be a need to dispose of the container everytime you have to “refill.” Also, as you mentioned, they do make for a great container for a first aid kit — I have one full of band-aids, cottons, antiseptics, etc. :)
I hot wash the wipes in my cloth nappy cycle and recycle them again by making a mixture of water, a few squirts of baby wash, 5 drops of tea tree oil and and 5 drops of lavender oil. The wipes along with some cloth ones are rolled up, packed neatly in the wipes container and the mixture is pored over to just cover the wipes. The tea tree oil prevents the mixture from going sour and you have fantastic smelling wipes all wet and ready to go. Depending on the brand the wipes will last at least 5-10 washes. I have saved heaps of money by doing this. I use the cloth wipes for sticky number twos and the recycled wipes are great for number ones. I don’t use the recycled wipes for face or hands. I have a seperate container of flannels on the kitchen table with the same sort of mixture with slightly less baby wash in it.
Baby wipe containers are agreat way to get organized I have two girls and I use them to organize their hair stuff like bows etc also great for some toys like barbie shoes or pollly pocket toys, crayons anything small then you just label the side with whats in it and they stack great too.
Here are some ideas for recycling baby stuff
1.Save those gowns and footed sleepers. You can never have too many to change into after a spit up or a diaper failure. Stains don’t matter and the cotton fabric gets softer and more comfortable with each trip through the laundry.
2.My girls’ used crib shoes and socks still look brand new even after being worn by three babies. If you know how much soft soled leather baby shoes cost you know that this is a very good example of saving money by recycling baby stuff. One caution that I would add is to be sure that you store them in a dry place between births as I lost a couple of pairs to mold (or was it mildew) when I put them in a cardboard box on the floor of the closet.
3.Strollers and baby beds are expensive and big money savers so long as you keep up with recalls. I actually came out alright by selling mine and buying newer models used for my second and third baby when storage space at my house was scarce. I didn’t feel guilty because by buying used, I was still recycling baby stuff and keeping it out of the junkyard.
I raised 4 babies without a single bottle, formula, etc and virtually no disposable diapers or baby wipes except for travelling. Look at the picture of the baby food jar -you could probably buy a whole yam for the price of that jar and feed the adults also! You are attacking the issue from the wrong end- reduce your consumption first, then worry about recycling if you have anything to recycle.
how to recycle baby diapers
Here are some ideas for recycling baby stuff
1.Save those gowns and footed sleepers. You can never have too many to change into after a spit up or a diaper failure. Stains don’t matter and the cotton fabric gets softer and more comfortable with each trip through the laundry.
2.My girls’ used crib shoes and socks still look brand new even after being worn by three babies. If you know how much soft soled leather baby shoes cost you know that this is a very good example of saving money by recycling baby stuff. One caution that I would add is to be sure that you store them in a dry place between births as I lost a couple of pairs to mold (or was it mildew) when I put them in a cardboard box on the floor of the closet.
3.Strollers and baby beds are expensive and big money savers so long as you keep up with recalls. I actually came out alright by selling mine and buying newer models used for my second and third baby when storage space at my house was scarce. I didn’t feel guilty because by buying used, I was still recycling baby stuff and keeping it out of the junkyard.
These days babies’ bottles tend to be made from an “unbreakable” plastic for safety reasons – depending on the recycling schemes in your area, you might be able to recycle it with your usual bottles and jars (different areas recycle types of plastic).
You can turn empty baby food jars into musical instruments for older children – just fill with lentils or beans to make a fun sounds. Just keep your new instruments out of baby’s sight unless you seal the jar!