Surprising Things You Didn't Know You Could Recycle

Wine Corks
Yemm & Hart located in Fredericktown, Missouri knew this because they recycle old wine and champagne corks sent in by consumers into wall and floor tiles.

Potato Chip Bags
Terracycle is an eco-friendly organization that makes awesome products from non-recycled items

Flip Flops
The UniqueEco brand created the Recycled Flip Flop Maridadi Bracelet from the thousands of flip flops that wash up on the shores of Kenya's Kiunga Marine National Reserve. The bracelets and other items are made by local men and women who collect them for fair trade wages.

Pantyhose
No Nonsense will turn pantyhose into such things as park benches, playground equipment, carpets, ropes and even toys. Simply download the mailing label and ship the pantyhose.

Styrofoam
Styrofoam that is used in egg cartons and many fast food restaurants never used to be recyclable…until now!  Check out how Recycle Tech Corp. (youtube clip, 4 mins) recycles Styrofoam into useful stuff like house insulation. Unfortunately, the economics of recycling styrofoam is appalling. That is why it is not currently included in curbside recycling programs.

Roof Shingles
Roofs to Roads takes old shingles, grinds them up and then mixes them with hot asphalt to pave roads.

Bra
Got a bra or few in good, functional condition to donate?  The Bosom Buddy Program will donate your pre-loved bra to a woman in need, whether through shelters or other programs that help women gain self-sufficiency.

Soaps and Shampoos
Clean the World is a non-profit group that’s collecting these discarded materials from hotels for redistribution around the world. In the process, Clean the World has put over 21,000 soap bars and 50 gallons of shampoo and conditioner back into human use, simultaneously eliminating over 4 tons of waste. 

Ski Equipment
Items that are still usable can be donated a local Goodwill or Salvation Army store. Or sell/trade them to a second-hand sporting goods store such as Play It Again sports store, or craiglist. If you can't find anywhere local, you can ship it to Colorado-based Boulder Ski Deals which accepts ski boots (along with skis, bindings, poles and snowboards) for recycling, donating usable equipment to charitable programs and shredding the rest for re-use in making new products.
 

If you know of places that recycle unique, strange or hard-to-recycle items, we would love to hear about it! Please email us at campaignforrecycling@gmail.com