any good ideas for recycling or using formula cans and baby food cans?

Just wondering if you guys have any good ideas for using all these used baby food jars and formula cans we throw away??? i feel so wasteful!!

 

I give all of mine to my teacher friend. She has so many uses for them. Now is almost springtime, so she is using the babyfood jars for plantings. I give her all my TP rolls and papertowel rolls. She uses water bottle caps for bingo markers. I know science teachers love this stuff, so maybe just drop them off at your local school.

 

We gave all of ours to my cousin who is a 2nd grade teacher. She used them in her classroom as well. I know one thing she used it (the Neosure cans) for was to sort her crayons (i.e. one color in each container).

 

For formula cans I didn't have any cannisters so I pealed off the lables, washed them out and made sticky lables on the computer that said "White Flour" "Wheat Flour" "Red Beans" "Lentils" etc. and put them on the shelf in my kitchen.

DH also sold a lot at the cemetary as flower holders on memorial day (I realize that problably won't work for you) A lot of people around here also use them as flower pots.

 

I'm a teacher and I was going to say the same thing as pps...send it to a school or daycare...teachers can ALWAYS find uses for containers! Art and science teachers especially! Good for you for thinking green

 

I'm planning to put tea lights in my baby food jars and hang them from a tree in our back yard as an outdoor chandelier. This won't use them all, but it's a start!

 

QUOTE(eechy @ Mar 6 2009, 01:12 PM) [snapback]1216875[/snapback]
I'm planning to put tea lights in my baby food jars and hang them from a tree in our back yard as an outdoor chandelier. This won't use them all, but it's a start!


I LOVE this idea. How nice when you have an outdoor party!

 

You can refill the baby food jars with applesauce or another type of food and re-use. For formula cans, you can always use them as containers for leftovers from dinner, baby supplies/toys, or as cookie jar type containers. We have a recycling program in our city. A recycle bin is picked up every week on the same day as garbage. We put our jars and used to put formula cans in there. HTH .

 

We had a great toy made from a formula can (our early intervention person showed it to us). You cut a slot in the plastic lid, and then give the kids (when they get a little older than yours) either small jar lids, or the lids that come off of frozen juice concentrate. They have to learn how to line up the little disks with the slot to put them in the can. You can also draw or cut out pictures of different animals or objects and glue them to your disks for when they are learning to identify different things (Can you put the horse in the can?).

So, it only uses up one can, but it was still a great toy for us.

Rachel

 

There are people on Freecycle always willing to take our used babyfood jars.

 

I know our city recycles them too. Teachers can always use old cans for many things, you could also use the old cans to store change, crayons, or other little items. We have been giving my SIL ( a teacher) diaper wipe containers we no longer use for her classroom.

 

great ideas!!! thank you!

 

Wow, great ideas ladies. I've actually been trying to cook more homemade baby food to cut down on this problem; this makes me feel a little better. Our city recycles, but the idea for teachers is great.