by Umbra Fisk
Send your question to Umbra!
Q. Dear Umbra,
I am a
child of the consumer age, but I try to live by “reuse, recycle.” I have a lot
of fancy perfume bottles that are now empty. They are very heavy glass, and it
seems I read that the return on the energy spent to melt them down is not worth
recycling them. Can you solve this conundrum?
Patricia M.
Seattle, Wash.
A. Dearest
Patricia,
How
fancy are we talking? Antiques Road Show fancy?
How I would delight in watching one of my readers discover that her glass
bottle was in fact a René Lalique bouchons
mures bottle circa 1923. Assuming my PBS fantasy is just that (sigh), I’ll guess that your bottles are
more contemporary.
First
things first: It’s definitely worth it to recycle glass. As we’ve discussed, recycling always
wins. Glass doesn’t biodegrade, so we don’t want it in our landfills. And
glass recycling actually saves energy compared with using new materials:
crushed glass (known as cullet) melts at a lower temperature than virgin
ingredients like sand. Perhaps
it’ll also ease your mind to know that glass containers produced today are 40
percent lighter than they were 20 years ago, making recycling even less
energy-intensive. Your heaviest perfume bottle is probably still lighter than
your mother’s were.
However,
there’s a pesky catch here: the pumps. I did a little hands-on research at a
fragrance counter (perhaps to the chagrin of the salespeople and my sinuses),
and sniffed out several different set-ups. Some of the pumps are screw-on,
which means you could easily detach the top and refill or recycle the bottle
(per my usual advice, check with your local authorities as to whether they’ll
accept it). Some without pumps have those dainty little stoppers that pop right
out, making for an easy refill or recycle. And then there are the pumps that
neither screw off or pop out; after trying it myself, I cannot endorse attempts
to pry the pumps off, for fear of ending up with your blood on my hands (a
damned spot that even the best NPE-free detergent can’t oust). Instead, perhaps try channeling Martha
Stewart by arranging those fancy glass bottles together on a windowsill or
bathroom counter for some cheap and easy recycled décor.
Also,
while the nearest locale for you, Patricia, is in Portland,
all spritzing readers should know: New
York perfumer Bond No. 9 and Saks Fifth Avenue
have a take-back program that accepts all perfume bottles for refurbishing and refilling or recycling.
In the
future, you might avoid perfume purchases altogether if you truly want to avoid
the bottle conundrum (and the toxic risks hidden in so many
of our cosmetics). I think you smell just fine from
here.
Sniffily,
Umbra
Q. Dear Umbra,
After
reading your article about ways to store food without using
plastic, I started to wonder if wax paper is recyclable. I know that you
can’t recycle things with food waste on them, but what about a gently used
piece of wax paper?
Crinkle-y,
Ariel
Boston, Mass.
A. Dearest Ariel,
Thanks for the lovely little stroll
down Ask Umbra archive lane.
While I generally avoid the “Can I
recycle this specific item?” dilemma—only your local recycling program can
tell you for sure—I can say that, food stains or not, wax paper contains a
generally unrecyclable culprit: wax, which is made from oil. Recovered
fiber from regular paper is shredded and mixed with water to make pulp. But in
the case of wax paper, oil and water mix about as well as, um, oil and water.
That said, how gently has the wax
paper been used? If it’s just looking a little crumb-ridden, by all means, wipe
it down and reuse away. Or there
could be some DIY-ing in your used wax paper’s future: perhaps a pressed-leaves
placemat, book
binding repair, or a stained
glass butterfly.
Craftily,
Umbra
Q. Hi Umbra,
I just
read your response
on water bottles and liked the part at the end where you asked the reader
if he really needs to buy a water bottle at all. If he does need to tote
liquids around (I do), what do you think of this solution environmentally: I
tote my water around in the glass jars that pasta sauce, peanut butter, jelly,
or olives came in. After using up the product, I just wash them out, and they
are a sparkling new water bottle. Most cafes will even fill them up if you stop
for a smoothie. My boyfriend even uses these jars for buying hot coffee from
cafés. I think this is a little hot to handle, but he swears it’s fine.
Erin
Sacramento, Calif.
A. Dearest Erin,
I like the cut of your jib. And props to your
boyfriend for braving the potential for blisters in the name of reuse. Any
other ideas for alternative beverage containers out there? Let me know in the
comments section.
Hydratedly,
Umbra
Related Links:
India, Italy, Brazil can fill America’s blanks
Ask Umbra on water bottles, gas dryers, and tea lights
Ask Umbra on judging greenness
