If you want to make a difference in the world, sometimes you need to get a little creative.
For one home cook, they found a unique way to turn discarded medicine bottles into convenient storage for kitchen spices.
The scoop
The home cook uploaded two pictures to r/ZeroWaste that showed off how their clever life hack turned into a functional and stylish spice rack.
From a small container filled with nutmeg to a larger bottle filled with black pepper, the Redditor appeared to have a wide selection of bottle sizes at their disposal.
But simply reusing the bottles wasn't quite enough for the home cook. They even added their own creative twist to each.
"All spice bottles are discarded bottles from a local apothecary," the original poster noted. "I designed and printed the labels myself."
How it's helping
According to Statista, Americans filled nearly five billion prescriptions in 2024. And because most recycling sites won't accept prescription pill bottles, the majority of the containers end up in landfills or littered throughout the environment.
Waste Medic noted that nearly 165 million of these plastic pill bottles enter our oceans, waterways, and landfills every year.
This influx of plastic has contributed to the 507-plus million tons of plastic waste that is produced annually. According to a UN Environment Programme study, the chemical composition of plastic material and major sources of plastic leakage have negatively impacted ecosystems, human health, and even the economy.
By reusing plastic prescription bottles and keeping them from winding up in our environment, we can reduce the threat of plastic pollution. Recycling plastic bottles requires significantly less energy than producing new bottles from raw materials. This can ultimately help decrease our reliance on dirty fuels.
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Giving me money back 💰 What everyone's saying
Down in the comments section, the majority of users couldn't help but applaud the original poster's creativity and resourcefulness.
"Love, love, love!" wrote one impressed commenter. "Cute and practical."
"Love jars and reusing jars," added another. "I put dried beans, lentils, and such in them as I don't like dried goods sitting in plastic bags they come in."
"Currently on the lookout for some thrift store spice," noted a third. "I would die for some pretty ones like these."
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