Glue sticks contain bonding material in a tube that either twists or pops up. They were developed by a company in Germany that was impressed with the ease of lipstick applicators and decided to apply the principle to glue. Glue sticks are easy to use and tend to make less mess than traditional squirt glue. For this reason, glue sticks are a favorite in schools. Because of their popularity, millions of glue sticks are sold around the world each year. Because so many glue sticks are used, Elmer's Glue--a company that produces more glue sticks than any other company--has implemented a glue stick recycling program. The program started in 2008. You may also be able to recycle glue sticks with a recycling company. Here is recycle glue sticks.
Instructions
1. Visit Earth911.com (see Resources) to find the recycling location closest to you that accepts empty glue sticks. Some recycling centers take glue sticks, but others don't. At the Earth911.com center, you can see which recycling companies accept empty glue sticks by zip code.
2. Consider joining the Elmer's Glue Crew program (see Resources) if you want to get others involved in recycling empty glue sticks. Elmer's Glue Crew is a nationwide empty glue stick recycling program open to everyone, including church groups, schools, day care centers and individuals.
3. Gather all of the empty glue stick tubes you have and put them in a cardboard box. If you're with an organization such as a church group, day care center or school, suggest that the organization have a box in a central location where people can toss their used glue sticks. Elmer's accepts all brands of empty glue sticks. However, the company does not guarantee that all brands are recyclable.
4. Wash off each empty glue stick to remove any sticky residue.
5. Seal the box shut with tape when it's full.
6. Print an official recycling label at the Elmer's Glue website (see Resources) and tape it to the box.
7. Take the box to Walmart and give it to a Walmart greeter (see Resources). Walmart is working with Elmer's to collect glue sticks. Walmart greeters are trained to accept glue sticks for recycling. The glue sticks must be delivered to Walmart and cannot be mailed in. Elmer's has contracted with different recycling companies to pick up the glue sticks at Walmart for recycling.
