If You Use A Scrub Mommy Or Daddy You Need This Money-Saving Tip

Sometimes washing dishes calls for Mommy or Daddy to help. Scrub Mommy or Scrub Daddy, that is. Invented by Aaron Krause and introduced widely in 2012 on "Shark Tank," these brightly-colored sponges are stiff when rinsed with cold water, but soften under hot water, essentially combining the two sides of a regular scrubber sponge.

We're here to help you get the most out of your kitchen tools, including avoiding common mistakes when using your kitchen sponges, but what about after they've reached the point of no return? Like most sponges, Scrub Daddy and its family of sponges are made of plastic. So when you throw away a used-up sponge, it becomes yet another piece of plastic heading to the landfill.

What if you could get money back instead? In the United States, Scrub Daddy started a program called Foam2Fuel. You can send your used Scrub Daddy item back to the company, and Scrub Daddy recycles it. In return, you get a discount on a future sponge purchase. Keeping plastic waste out of landfills and getting some money back is a real win-win for Scrub Daddy devotees.

Of course, the sponge doesn't have a recycling symbol on it like other single-use plastics, so the process for repurposing Scrub Daddies isn't like recycling other plastic. "Shark Tank" Shark (judge) Lori Greiner, who still owns a 20% share of Scrub Daddy, posted a video describing what happens. The sponges are compressed into 200-pound bales that eventually become fuel for cement kilns. That means your kitchen garbage can actually power road construction.

To get started with the Foam2Fuel program, fill out a form on the Scrub Daddy website. Then, mail in your used sponge — the program is free, but you have to pay for shipping — or bring them to the Scrub Daddy store in Pennsauken, New Jersey (near Philadelphia). You'll get $2 off subsequent Scrub Daddy purchases from the website for each sponge you return, though you can only return up to five sponges at once.

Before you return your sponge, just because it's dirty doesn't mean it's no longer useful. If you think your Scrub Mommy or Scrub Daddy is done for, the company recommends washing it in the dishwasher. Or, you can get the sponge damp and then microwave for up to 60 seconds. That'll help you get even more use out of the colorful smiling face before going for the $2 coupon.