How To Recycle Gift Cards
How To Recycle Gift Cards - Blank gift cards have many interesting uses. Here are a few to try. Every year, billions of gift cards are produced, and more than 90% of Americans have given or received them. They are a popular choice for holiday gifts, thank you gifts, employer bonuses and raffle prizes.
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How To Recycle Gift Cards
But what do you do with the cards when the shopping spree is over and the gift cards are empty? A lot of people just throw them in the trash, but that's a terrible idea. The number of new gift cards produced annually has the potential to "add 75 to 100 million pounds of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material to landfills" each year.
PVC is a big problem for the environment. It does not break down naturally and can leach heavy metals and other pollutants into the soil. When burned, it can release toxic toxins into the air. There must be a better way! Fortunately, there is. Instead of throwing away your empty gift cards, you can recycle them into something you can continue to use and enjoy.
This saves you money while keeping gift cards out of landfills and incinerators and protects the environment. Here are more than a dozen cool uses for gift cards once they're used: Many gift cards let you put more money on them after you use them, and most don't have any value printed on them, so you can add as much as you like.
Over A Dozen Nifty Ways To Reuse Empty Gift Cards
how i like You can turn your blank card into a fun gift for a friend or loved one. If you have a wobbly table, a bathtub that needs grouting, or loose tiles to replace, gift cards can help. Read This Old House's article, 10 Uses for Gift Cards for tips on how to use gift cards to renovate your home.
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Many gift cards have beautiful designs on the face, from flowers to birthdays to Santa. It's a shame to let these patterns go to waste. Instead, cut out the patterns and use them as decorations for homemade greeting cards. Even ordinary gift cards can be beautiful if you cut them into shapes: hearts from red cards, Christmas trees from green, etc.
Greeting cards aren't the only way to use the beautiful motifs that many used gift cards offer. You can cut up your gift cards to make an inexpensive substitute for store-bought scrapbook embellishments. Or cut out the cards and use them as borders or labels for your scrapbook pages.
If you enjoy stenciling, gift cards can be very helpful. You can use them as a hard surface to spread paint over your stencil, for example. Don't forget the shapes of the cards themselves. Craft expert Amy Solovay suggests using the edges of gift cards for paper stencils.
Recharge Your Card And Give It As A Gift
She says, "They come in all kinds of interesting shapes: cupcakes, logo shapes and other intriguing designs." Simply trace the edges, paint over the markings with ink, or lay the cards face down and spray paint them to create beautiful patterns on your stationery. Another idea is to cut out words or shapes from the gift cards themselves and use the cards as templates.
Spray paint or spread your preferred medium over them to transfer your design to paper or canvas. If you make your own pottery, you can use an expired gift card as a scraper and texturing tool. Used gift cards can help you spend less money on your hobby by replacing tools you would otherwise have to buy.
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If you like cross stitch or other crafts, you can punch blank gift cards and use them as mini yarn organizers. You can also cut notches on the short sides of the cards and use them to store embroidery thread and cotton threads. For the thread, make a hole in the center of the card and pass the graded thread through the hole, one type of thread per card.
Cut the plastic into cute shapes and paint, decoupage or decorate with stickers. You can then join the pieces together to make funky jewelry and belts. Here's a tutorial for turning gift cards into earrings or check out this cute gift card bracelet for inspiration. If you have gift cards with cute colors or patterns, cut them into shapes, punch a hole in them, make a ring through the hole, and you have a cute and inexpensive keychain.
Use Your Gift Card To Fix Up Your Home
Another idea is to use any old gift card as the back of a favorite photo or graphic. Use Modge Podge to secure the image, punch a hole, screw on a circle, and you're done. Your own personalized keychain. Cut colorful gift cards into small pieces and you can use them to create mosaic patterns instead of more expensive materials.
Here's an idea for a mosaic frame made from gift cards. And if you're looking for a conversation piece, here's a mosaic table idea that brings the dynamism out of blank panels. LifeHacker.com ran a contest calling for interesting uses for empty gift cards, and the winner was a simple idea for keeping your spare keys in your wallet.
Tape an extra house or car key to the inside of an empty gift card, then tape another gift card on top. Insert the resulting key sandwich into one of the credit card slots in your wallet and you won't have to worry about the key falling out or getting lost.
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Paint your rectangular gift cards a matte black color, then use a white Sharpie to write the names of your plants for inexpensive and attractive plant tags. You can also use a similar technique to create business cards for your next dinner party or holiday meal.
Turn Used Gift Cards Into Greeting Cards
You can use gift cards to make unusual wreaths, cut out cute shapes to use as decorations on your tree, or use as a prop for a decapitated photo. You can also cut them to the size of a gift tag and glue paper on them to write the names of the recipients.
If cables and wires are getting out of hand, use your old gift cards to dispute them. Simply cut a notch in the long sides and drill holes in the short sides and you have a simple and attractive DIY cable holder. Cut a gift card into a square shape, mix the colors and glue them to a cork board to make a practical and beautiful centerpiece.
A coat of Modge Podge makes them softer and more durable. Save all those expired credit cards and empty gift cards and cut them into strips. Pierce the strips and thread the cable through them. Place them on something attractive, like brass curtain rod holders, and you've got beautiful, inexpensive pieces of art.
Throwing away a gift card is a waste. Instead, take advantage of hard plastic and shiny design and repurpose them into something useful. It will help you save money and make our planet a little safer. Your account payment could not be processed or you have canceled your account with us.
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