REUSE

When recycling programs became common three decades ago, they were sold to taxpayers as a win-win, financially and environmentally: Cities expected to reap budget savings through the sale of recyclable materials, and conscientious taxpayers expected to reduce ecological destruction. Instead, the painful reality for enthusiastic, dutiful recyclers is that most recycling programs don’t make much environmental sense. Often, they don’t make economic sense, either.

As a result, cities that once collected some revenue for bales of recyclables (though typically not enough to cover the extra costs that recycling introduces into a municipal budget) must now pay to get rid of them. In many cases, they simply send them to landfills.*

* Manhattan Institute (Sep. 2020)

What does this have to do with anything?

If you take a look at our products and packaging you should notice something. Couldn’t those stickers just be embossed? Wouldn’t it be cost-effective to use plastic boxes or single-use cardboard? Yes, and yes. However, we deliberately use (relatively) easy to remove transparent or vinyl stickers for all of our products and packaging not in spite of, but because of the fact that that should make it more appealing for you to reuse. Simply remove the stickers if you wish and, presto, you’ve got a nice tumbler, or apothecary jar, or crisp looking gift box. “Oh,” we hear you say, “but that sounds like a lot of work, removing all of that excess wax and stickers. Is it?” Glad you asked. Here is exactly how much work it will be (in 4 methods).

1. Freeze the Candle Wax

Cold causes wax to harden and shrink, making it easier to remove, hence the old trick of using ice cubes to get wax out of carpets. Use a butter knife—or a spoon if your wax is soft—to break up any large chunks of wax that remain in the container if the jar has a narrow mouth. Place the candle in the freezer for several hours or until it is frozen. The wax should pop right out of the container, but you can also loosen it with a butter knife if necessary. Scrape off any residue and then clean the container with soap and water.

2. Use Boiling Water

Hot water can also be used to remove wax. Put the candle on a surface protected with a towel or newspaper. Use a butter knife or spoon to remove as much wax as you can. Pour boiling water into the container, leaving room at the top. (If your candle is made of soft wax, such as soy wax, you can use hot water that’s not boiling.) The boiling water will melt the wax and it will float to the top. Let the water cool and remove the wax. Strain the water to get rid of any small wax bits. (Don’t pour wax down the drain.) Scrape any remaining wax and clean with soap and water.

3. Use the Oven

This method works well if you have several containers to clean at once. Scrape out as much wax as you can with a butter knife or spoon. Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a rimmed baking pan with tinfoil or one or two layers of parchment paper. Place the candles upside down on the pan and set the pan in the oven. The wax will melt in about 15 minutes. Remove the pan and place it on a heat-safe surface. Hold the container using a towel or pot holder and wipe the inside with a paper towel. Let the container cool and then clean with soap and water.

4. Create a Double Boiler

Remove as much wax as you can with a butter knife or a spoon. Place the candle inside of a pot or large metal bowl on a heat-safe surface. (You can put a folded dish towel under the candle to keep it from moving in the pot.) Pour boiling water into the pot around the candle, making sure that the water does not get into the candle jar. Let the jar sit in the hot water until the wax has softened. Hold the jar in one hand and use a butter knife to loosen the wax. Remove the container from the water, pop out the wax, and then wash with soap and water.