Everything can be recycled, reused, or transformed. Well, maybe not everything, but one sure thing is that some Redditors are not short of ideas when it comes to preventing waste.
"Needed a pasta container. Found one that came with free pretzel bites," one of them told the members of subreddit group r/upcycling.
This practice is known as upcycling, or how to reuse discarded or waste materials to create something that is new and even valuable. What the original poster did here could not be simpler: They just put their spaghetti in a jar that used to contain peanut butter-flavored pretzel bites.
Easy to copy, ideal for saving space and money, and one of the best ways to cut waste, upcycling is beneficial in so many ways. In the United States, the Global Waste Index 2025 revealed an average of 951 kilograms (2,097 pounds) of waste per person annually, or about 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) per day.
The less trash generated, the less crowded landfills are. International waste is choking more than one country in the world, including Ghana, whose protected wetlands become dumping grounds for fast-fashion garments shipped from European countries.
Some companies are also taking similar initiatives to reduce waste. In Australia, for example, supermarket chain 7-Eleven is turning old employee uniforms into stretch beanies in an effort to reduce textile waste. The finished pieces are donated to people in need.
On Reddit, the hack gathered some excitement from other upcycling fans, who were keen on sharing what they've been doing to reuse products that would have otherwise ended up in nature.
"Love it when that happens," one commented, referring to the success of the upcycle.
"Omg my mom did this exact thing with a different brand of peanut butter pretzels, we've had that container for yearsssss," another wrote.
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