Most of us know that bottled water is evil when it comes to the environment and its far better to use a household filtration system in conjunction with refillable water bottles in order to quench our thirsts on the go.

But if you do have to buy packaged water for whatever reason, water casks can be a little more environmentally friendly than bottled water.

However, while the cardboard box it comes in can certainly be recycled; what about that plastic encased foil bladder/bag within? The same challenge applies to cask/boxed wine bladders; also known as “bag in a box” wines.

As far as I know, the bladders are often made from metalized Biaxially-Oriented PolyEthylene Terephthalate (boPET) and cannot be recycled, so millions of these bags wind up in land fill each year.

Here’s some ideas for keeping bag-in-a-box and cask water bladders out of the waste stream or perhaps using them to replace another product you may buy and discard

– Partially inflated, bladders can make for excellent packing material and padding

– Partially fill with water, fold and freeze to use as a freezer brick. For a better brick, use salty water.

– Sewn or heat sealed together, bladders can become a thermal cover for reflecting heat

– I’ve seen some people use inflated bladders attached by string to a stake to act as a bird scarer in veggie patches

– Cut off the length of the bag on the spigot end, cut a hole in each layer for a handle and use as a carry bag or for storing items

– As above, but glue a layer of bubble wrap to the inside of the bag to use as a cooler bag.

– Can be used as a kitchen tidy rubbish bag

– An inflated bladder can make for a handy camping pillow

– Depending on the spigot, it can be removed and the bladder refilled with other liquids or water.

There has to be a ton of other uses for these bladders – please share your ideas below!