How to Dispose of Candles

Before recycling any glass candle jars or reusing the wax you need to separate the two. Using a knife and/or spoon to scoop it out sometimes works if the wax is soft and you use a bit of elbow grease (not literally). Often it’s too hard, but there are easier ways to get it out.

There are three main ways to clean out the wax from your candle jars before recycling them:

• Boil and melt – place your candle jar on a heat-safe surface and boil a kettle. Pour the boiling water into the jar, leaving a little room at the top. The melted wax should float to the top and harden as the water cools. Simply pick it out when the water’s cool and scrape away any remaining bits stuck to the jar’s insides, before washing with soap and water.
• Freeze it out – break up the wax a bit if you can and then put the jar in a freezer overnight. When the wax has frozen you should be able to pop it out with a butter knife. Breaking it up beforehand makes removing the frozen wax easier. Then wash the insides with soap and water before recycling.
• Use the hob – place the candle jar in an empty glass bowl over a pan of simmering water. This melts the wax so you can easily pour it out, without the jar itself getting too hot (though wearing oven gloves is advised). Alternatively, have the bowl on a heat-safe surface and pour the boiling water around the candle jar in the bowl but ensure no water goes into the jar. Safely pour out the melted wax then clean the jar.

Rather than recycling candle jars when you’ve cleaned them out and emptied them, they have various other uses. This includes old candle jars made of glass, metal, plastic, or any other material. A few ideas of what to do with empty candle jars include to:

• Hold and display flowers like a vase
• Plant small cacti or other house plants – or grow plants from a seed
• Store pens, make-up brushes, or toothbrushes
• Use to serve drinks, desserts, or snacks (after a thorough cleaning)
• Keep cat and dog treats for easy access

You can reuse candle wax after it’s been used in a candle. It just needs remelting and repurposing to use again as a fresh candle or for other things. If you melt it and mix it with another type of wax it can affect the smell, colour, and consistency.

Never pour candle wax down the drain, as it will cool, harden, and block your pipes. To reuse candle wax you first need to melt the wax left in your old candle jar in a bowl of boiling water or over a simmering pan. Once it’s melted there are a few ways to reuse candle wax to make a:

• New candle – simply pour the melted wax into an old glass candle jar around a wick to create a fresh candle. If you’ve only got a small amount of wax either build it up over time to form a rainbow candle or add it into an empty tealight for a new small candle.
• Wax melt – find a mould or ice cube tray pour your remaining wax into it and leave it to solidify. Add colour and fragrances then when they’re solidified you can bag them up and gift them to friends and family or place any fragranced ones around your home or office.
• Fragrance pouch – if the wax is from a scented candle you can melt it down or break it off and put it in little pouches (or add fragrances when melting down). Place these fragrance pouches inside drawers, wardrobes, and even your car to introduce a fresh fragrance to stale areas.

Small amounts of solid candle wax can be disposed of in domestic and commercial general waste bins. If you can’t or don’t want to reuse and recycle candle wax then it should be removed from the jar and thrown away. Never throw a glass jar in general waste as it’s 100% recyclable.

Ensure the wax is cool and dry – don’t throw away warm melting wax as it could stick to the bin or waste bag and pose a fire risk. Put it inside any other rubbish in the general waste bin, such as wrapping it in an empty crisp packet.