RePurposing Our Candle Vessels & Tins

Now that our little candle business is coming up on our 1.5 year anniversary, many of our eco-conscious (and money-saving) customers are asking us if we have a recycling or reusing program for our candles. Excellent idea! We are definitely working on a division of our company that is ALL about reusing/refilling our candles. Right now, we do not have the resources to build that side of the business, but rest assured we are making plans for the future!

In the meantime, in honor of Earth Day, April 22nd, we have put together some fabulous ideas for repurposing our vessels. The hand-drawn artwork, created by our beautiful and talented Bridget, is too pretty to discard . . . so why not come up with some fun ways repurpose the vessel/tin after it is done being a beautiful candle?

In fact, One Green Planet states that repurposing items is far better for our environment than recycling:

“Recycling has been over-praised through the years. While it’s great that we have found ways to break down our waste and create something else (or the same thing) with recyceld materials, it still requires a lot of energy. What’s more is that, if we simply recycle everything, we are likely using new resources each time we buy that item again. In other words, it’s better than sending things to the landfill, but recycling should hardly be our first thought on helping the environment . . . .for those of us looking to care for the planet, we need to get back to reusing. And, when items can’t be reused, we need to find ways to repurpose them.” onegreenplanet.com

The first step in repurposing your vessels and tins is getting the last of the wax out, along with the wick and those fun little gems. You can do this by setting your vessel or tin in about 1 inch of water in a stove-top approved pan and bring the water to a slow boil enough to melt the wax to liquid. Never leave unattended, of course! Then carefully grab the vessel/tin (use potholders as the surface of the vessel/tin may be hot!) and carefully scoop out the gems you wish to save. We rinse our gems in a fine strainer pour hot water to get any residual wax off the gems and then we dry them on a paper towel and place them all together in little pinch bowls for safe keeping! Such a beautiful rainbow of gems!

Once you remove the gems, then carefully pour out any remaining melted wax into a garbage can and pull the wick off the bottom of the vessel/tin. If the wick is really stubborn, you can use a pair of pliers, but most of the time once the wax is melted the wick is removed easily,

Then just wash your vessel/tin in warm soapy water. This does not wreck the labels. Give it a quick rinse, dry and you’re good to go!

Here are some clever and fun repurposing ideas . . a fabulous planter for your succulent garden or an artful toothbrush + toothpaste holder for your bathroom! Or add some labels and turn them into useful spice canisters for your kitchen or maybe a pretty pen & pencil holder for your desk!

And the tins are great for holding ‘stuff’ . . . paperclips, thumbtacks, rubber bands! Or maybe add them to your garage/laundry room organization? Such a useful size for all of the little things in life!

“There is no such thing as away. When you throw something away, it must go somewhere.”

~ Annie Leonard

Please REPURPOSE your candle vessels and tins — be sure to send us photos and/or tag us on social media! We’d LOVE to see your clever ideas in action and ya never know, we could send you a brand-new candle just for sharing and inspiring!