what to do with your old license plate
Mayhap you lot bought a new car this yr, or moved to a dissimilar land. Maybe you were looking for a new way to show support for your favorite sports team, animal species, children's program or national park. There are many reasons people terminate up with spare license plates at habitation, and there are many good ways to recycle them or reuse them in craft projects. We share some of our favorite ideas below.
What are license plates made of?
Modern license plates are fabricated of aluminum, which is easy to recycle. Manufacturers simply melt the metallic down and bandage it into new items. Hundreds of products are made of aluminum — everything from silverware to cars — so there is no shortage of demand for information technology. There is a very adept reason to recycle aluminum as well. Manufacturing the metal from virgin materials takes a tremendous amount of energy. On the other hand, aluminum producers judge that they tin reduce their carbon emissions by 95% when they use recycled aluminum in their products. In many states, license plates are fabricated by prison house inmates who stamp them out in special workshops designed to teach basic job skills. Besides giving prisoners a source of income and something to do, the practice lowers the cost of manufacturing license plates for states. License plates first came into being in 1903 as a way to register cars and tax drivers. At diverse times throughout history they were made of steel, tin can, porcelain, even soy-based fiberboard during World War Ii. Until the 1940s, drivers got a new set of license plates with the date stamped into the metal every year. Georgia was the first state to add decals with the year and so plates could exist used over and over again.
How to recycle license plates
Your country's vehicle licensing department (often called a DMV) should provide specific instructions on acceptable ways to recycle license plates. Generally, drivers accept several options to choose from:
- Return quondam license plates to a vehicle licensing function in person. The downside to doing this is it can hateful a long look to run into someone at the counter. We all know how fun the DMV is!
- Mail service them to a vehicle licensing office. Each state should have a mailing address for returning erstwhile license plates on its website.
- Put them in an aluminum recycling bin at your local recycling center. If you choose this option, it is very important to remove all the month and twelvemonth decals from the license plate and destroy it by angle it, scratching information technology upwards, or cut it into pieces. If someone steals a valid plate and puts it on his or her car, the constabulary volition contact you if a criminal offence is committed with that vehicle.
In some cities (for case, Huntsville, AL, and White Plains, NY) you can place erstwhile aluminum license plates in your curbside bin. But, these programs are rare, so ask local recycling company if it takes license plates before putting them in your bin. Make sure you check with your state licensing office to run into if it has special requirements for certain types of plates. In Washington country, for example, the simply way to recycle license plates for veterans and people with disabilities is to bring them to a vehicle licensing office. Normal plates can be recycled using the methods described above.
License plates every bit collector's items
Plenty of people collect license plates, and they are looking for more than than vintage items. While rare, older license plates are likely to sell for the almost money, information technology is possible to sell more modern plates. Some collectors are interested in gathering a plate from every county in a country. Artists may need plates with certain colors for projects. Bank check with antique stores in your surface area to run into if they will have older plates. eBay is a great place to sell former license plates, but non new ones. The online auction site prohibits the sale of "current vehicle license plates and plates that look like current license plates." If you want to dispose of newer plates yous may need to give them to friends or network with local artists and collectors to see if they are interested.
License plates for craft projects
Old license plates can exist used for a variety of craft projects. Purses are very popular, simply a quick await on Pinterest also shows license plates made into wall art, birdhouses and journals. Another fun idea is to cutting the numbers and messages out of license plates and use them to create signs, clocks and keychains. They have the fun, funky appearance of a collage. Fair alert: The metal edges of cut-up license plates will be sharp, so delight be careful when you lot handle them. License plates make beautiful artwork, too. The piece of work of Aaron Foster, who uses vintage plates to make astonishing wall hangings (including a map of the U.S. made with license plates from each state), is ane of my personal favorites.
Source: https://recyclenation.com/2014/07/recycle-license-plates/
0 Response to "what to do with your old license plate"
Post a Comment