Repurposed Bottles

Repurposed Bottles

Want a fun way to recycle glass bottles? Many states offer a money back deposit on glass bottles when you return them to the store, but here in Florida the only option is to place them in the recycling bin for pickup or bring them to a recycling center. Why not repurpose your glass bottles into something useful or decorative? Here are just a few ways you can use repurposed bottles:

Photo #1: Beer or wine bottle border

Instead of purchasing a border for your garden use colored glass bottles instead. It is simple to do all you need is a rubber mallet and a shovel or post hole digger. First, decide on your garden border layout. If there is grass where you wish to place your border you will need to remove the sod using a shovel or post hole digger. If you have sandy soil like I do you can skip to the next step. Take your bottle and place the neck down in the dirt and give the bottom of the bottle a few gentle taps with the rubber mallet until the bottle is firm in place. Continue adding bottles leaving a ¼” to ½” gap between each bottle. (The base of the bottle is wider than the neck, the gap will disappear as you pound them into the ground). Remember to rinse your bottles before you install so not to attract ants.

Photo #2: Party Table Centerpieces

We recently hosted our parents’ 50^th Wedding anniversary. We contacted our wine drinking friends and collected all their empty wine bottles to use for the table centerpieces. Each bottle was washed and soaked to remove the labels then spray painted gold and splatter painted turquoise to match their wedding colors. We printed arched sticky labels with their wedding photo and anniversary date and placed them on the bottles to resemble a wine label. We filled them with silk Calla lilies (their wedding flowers) and placed them on the tables. At the end of the party the guests took them home as keepsakes.

Photo #3: Unique lighting

To achieve this look we sprayed the clean wine bottles with spray adhesive then rolled in glitter. A string of Christmas lights was stretched from each bottle and dropped down into the bottle necks to give a soft glow.

Photo #4: Beer bottle fountain

I admit this one is not your everyday bottle project. We collected beer bottles from a local Elks club to create a unique water feature on a raised water garden. The bottles were stacked using mortar mix to keep them in place. At the top a “bar” was added using discarded beer mugs and taps. The bottle caps were put back on to keep bees from forming hives inside the bottles. The possibilities for re-purposing with glass bottles are endless, all it takes is a bit of imagination.

This article can be found on Florida Creative Living Magazine. Be sure to check back to read more articles on repurposing.