Medications keep you healthy, but they also come with plenty of those little orange plastic bottles. Folks on Reddit explained some great hacks for disposing of prescription bottles.
The scoop
One person took to the zero waste community on Reddit after they started taking two daily medications, looking for ways to reduce their waste: "The bottles themselves are plastic, cannot be reused, and often come in a plastic bag … Does anyone have suggestions for less waste?"
Luckily for the OP, a pharmacist gave up some great secrets for one of their favorite ways to give pill bottles new life. They recommended, "Donate them to an animal rescue/clinic. Used to work at a spay/neuter clinic, and we appreciated every dime we could save. Bonus points if you remove the label completely."
How it's helping
Finding new ways to reduce your waste is one of the easiest ways to protect the planet. Plastic waste is a massive problem around the world. The UN reported that "around the world, 1 million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, while up to 5 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year."
The common advice is to reduce, reuse, and recycle, but in the United States, our recycling system is less than efficient. NPR wrote on the shortcomings of recycling, explaining, "The amount of plastic actually turned into new things has fallen to new lows of around 5%."
While this is by no means to say that recycling is not worth the effort, we do have some work to do. Additionally, finding alternative ways to put your waste to use may be the best way to recycle and make eco-friendly choices.
What everyone's saying
Redditors had some additional ideas for ways to give those little orange bottles new life.
One person explained how they repurpose their plastic containers: "I use them around the house — I store paper clips in one at my desk, spare change in my car, and use them for fasteners in the garage."
Another commenter explained how they also donate to their local animal shelter, "They usually operate on an absolute shoestring budget, so free bottles for medicines is a big help."
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Giving me money back 💰 "My pharmacy lets me reuse my bottles. I bring it in when I need a refill," added someone else.
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