Empty medication bottles piling up has become a pronounced part of most Americans' homes. The overarching question remains: What should consumers do with them?
"I saved a few of the little orange bottles to store matches in," wrote one Redditor after asking that question in the r/ChronicPain subreddit. They received tons of ideas for how to reuse empty medication bottles.
The scoop
One user with dozens of upvotes imparted myriad ideas to the stressed-out poster. They suggested using the bottle for traveling with jewelry, craft items, and little sewing kits.
"These are really helpful for food banks and homeless shelters," the commenter wrote. "It's just a little bit of thread (I just wrap some black, white and navy thread onto a piece of cardboard with a notch on top for the end) a few sewing needles in a piece of cardboard or felt, some replacement buttons, little scissors if you can get them."
Additionally, the user suggested using the bottles as popsicle trays "in a pinch" by freezing pudding, adding popsicle sticks, and removing them in hot water to pop them out.
"Obviously clean them out well" beforehand, they stated.
Other ideas included using them to start seedlings in spring, propagate plants in the winter, mix paint, and even use them for stylish additions to clothes.
"I may or may not have cut some of them in half, rhinestoned … them and sewed them onto a leather skirt I made," the commenter said.
How it's helping
It's been estimated that Americans use 194 billion prescription bottles each year, with most of them getting thrown out instead of recycled. The majority that do end up in a landfill add to the already large proportion of nonbiodegradable plastics that linger in landfills and accumulate soil, water, and air pollution.
"Millions of tonnes of plastic waste are lost to the environment, or sometimes shipped thousands of kilometres to destinations where it is mostly burned and dumped," according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
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Giving me money back 💰 It further stated that "there are many things that you as an individual can do." The consistent theme throughout the solutions is to reuse and reduce the amount of plastic you use. These hacks give you ample options for just how to do that — and reducing the impact on the planet.
What everyone's saying
Commenters within the subreddit were enthralled by the user's long and feasible list.
"I think we just found Martha Stewart's account," wrote one user.
Others offered even more suggestions. One website utilizes old medication bottles to help with international aid and disaster relief. Meanwhile, others suggest calling your pharmacist to see if they have any recycling schemes with them.
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