I am sure you have seen, if not had, the plastic bakery boxes used by Walmart and other large bakeries. We end up with a few now and then. I had heard for a long time that they could be reused as plastic for shrinky dinks. Upon checking, this isn't true in my area. Shrinky dinks have the number 6 in the recycling triangle, and bakery boxes don't.
I was frustrated today because I didn't want to just throw them away, so I actually looked up the code on them. They are made from PETE (aka PET), which is polyethylene teraphthalate and is the same plastic as water and soda bottles.
If you spend much time on pinterest, craftgawker, or other sites, you will see TONS of ways to recycle soda and water bottles. Some involve cutting the plastc and rying to make it lay flat. Using a bakery box would make it vastly easier. I have seen myriad projects where you cut up a soda bottle, color it with a sharpie, wait untili t dries and use a hair dryer set on high or a heat gun to help bend the plastic into beads, wire, small containers, whatever.
If you are not crafty/artsy, or you don't like working with plastic or heat guns or whatever, when you throw these out remember they can be recycled like your soda bottles (if you have them AND recycling. Sigh. That is another fight, lol. Check each bakery's boxes rather than just tossing them in, because there may be some made of other plastics. Given that Walmart is using these rather than the old ones made from the same stuff as shrinky dinks, it is reasonable to think the market in general has switched.
Enjoy!
I was frustrated today because I didn't want to just throw them away, so I actually looked up the code on them. They are made from PETE (aka PET), which is polyethylene teraphthalate and is the same plastic as water and soda bottles.
If you spend much time on pinterest, craftgawker, or other sites, you will see TONS of ways to recycle soda and water bottles. Some involve cutting the plastc and rying to make it lay flat. Using a bakery box would make it vastly easier. I have seen myriad projects where you cut up a soda bottle, color it with a sharpie, wait untili t dries and use a hair dryer set on high or a heat gun to help bend the plastic into beads, wire, small containers, whatever.
If you are not crafty/artsy, or you don't like working with plastic or heat guns or whatever, when you throw these out remember they can be recycled like your soda bottles (if you have them AND recycling. Sigh. That is another fight, lol. Check each bakery's boxes rather than just tossing them in, because there may be some made of other plastics. Given that Walmart is using these rather than the old ones made from the same stuff as shrinky dinks, it is reasonable to think the market in general has switched.
Enjoy!