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How to Recycle Drinks

How to Recycle Drinks

Updated 18 January 2019 05:16 AM

Most of us don't think twice about how we might recycle drinks, but there are many options

It's so habitual to simply tip old, unused or expired drinks down the sink. Before you tip the next lot of drinks down the sink, here are a few simple and useful ways how you could recycle drinks yourself.

  • Left over red wine that has gone “off” can be used for a variety of different purposes; as a skin toner, in your bath as a skin softener, to make vinegar, as a meat marinade, or a dye.
  • White wine can be used to clean veges, to clean up red wine off the carpet, to make vinegar, as a disinfectant or glass cleaner, or to clean grease off your driveway.
  • Flat or unwanted fizzy drink can also be used for a number of different purposes; in recipes for sauces, biscuits, jellies, ice blocks, and cakes.  It can also be used as a marinade for meat and will wipe a chalk board clean without leaving a sticky residue!
  • Coca Cola can be used to clean toilets or any other ceramic surface.

  • Fruit juice that is unwanted or gone “off” can go straight into the compost heap – just be careful not to make the compost heap too soggy (it needs to be damp, not too wet or too dry, to optimise the composting process).  It can also be used to water plants or make a sweet and sour sauce.
  • Milk that is starting to turn sour can be used for all sorts of things; making soups, cottage cheese or paneer, in cakes, pikelets, pancakes, cheese making or use it on your skin as a lactic acid facial.  It can also be used in gardening if you dilute it with water – it’s supposed to be particularly good for tomato plants.


Image: Unsplash | Dose Juice
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Science Notes
Oxidation (exposure to oxygen) is the main culprit in changing the composition of wine – making it “turn” or go “off”.  

Milk contains a sugar called lactose. It also contains harmless bacteria called lactobacillus, which uses lactose for energy and creates lactic acid as a by-product. It is the lactic acid which makes milk taste sour. 

The term fruit "juice" is a broad term that can mean anything from 100% fruit content to less than 1% fruit content with a lot of added sugar. Juices which are all fruit will go off sooner than juices with added sugar and preservatives as the natural sugars in the fruit will begin to ferment over time.  

Related Tip

Our household drains are deceptive things; they magically rinse our messes away, and once we’ve poured something down the sink or toilet, we rarely think of it again. We cannot think this way!  Beyond the drain in Australian homes is either a septic system, or municipal sewerage plant.  Either of which can eventually lead to waterways or out to sea. 

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