With everyday living we accumulate a fair number of rubber bands. We get them wrapped around our mail, the broccoli we buy, around flower stems to keep them secure, the newspapers delivered to our homes and many other everyday items. Rubber bands cannot be broken down and made into something completely new, but individuals can recycle them through reuse.

See ideas here: http://recyclenation.com/2012/12/reuses-rubber-bands#sthash.yrmTnCvG.dpuf

Here are a few more ways to use rubber bands and keep them out of landfill: http://www.chasinggreen.org/article/23-ways-re-use-rubber-bands/

• If you have some wider rubber bands (the kind used for broccoli) that aren't as stretchy as you'd like, simply cut them with a pair of scissors into thinner bands so they become easier to stretch for various uses.
• To conserve the contents of dispensers (soap, hand lotion, etc.) wrap a rubber band around the neck of the dispenser, under the output spout. This will limit the amount dispensed each time from the bottle, resulting in less used. Usually too much comes out so this will make it last longer and eliminate waste.
• Stretched around a paint can, a rubber band is a better edge for removing excess paint from a brush.
• Postal services use lots of rubber bands, ask if they can reuse yours.