Artist shares genius use for empty medicine bottles: 'Will actually last longer inside'

A Reddit user on the r/paint subreddit had a clever idea for keeping his supplies in good shape. 

The scoop

The original poster offered up a simple question: "Can I use Prescription Bottles for Storing Paint? Basically, I take medicine everyday and if I can reuse them for custom paint, it would be great!"

One community member was quick to confirm his hypothesis. 

"You can use them just fine. Paint will actually last longer inside plastic storage containers vs metal paint cans. I know a guy that stores all of his metallics in prescription bottles. He has a little Batman tool belt thing too with slot wrings and he'll load it up with the bottles almost like a bandolier full of shotgun shells. It's pretty cool."

How it's helping

Paint is a hazardous waste material, so the longer life you can get out of it, the better it is for the environment. It can be difficult (or altogether impossible) to revive paint that's dried. Paints can also get pricey, so the longer you can use yours, the easier it is on your wallet. 

Plenty of other artists are finding uses for pill bottles, including as canvases and as an aid for painting miniatures. Beyond the world of art, we've seen pill bottles reused in the bathroom, emergency kits, and the freezer. An especially great use of them is with Matthew 25: Ministries, which gets pill bottles back out into the field for their original purpose. 

Plastic waste is a massive problem, especially for ocean life that deals with microplastics. The longer we can keep used plastic out of waterways, the better it is for local ecosystems. Plastic production has its own toll on the environment, so it's also great if we can avoid making more when we don't need to. 

Pill bottles are a fine start, but you can find even more imaginative ways to reuse containers in the TCD Guide.  

What everyone's saying

Another Reddit commenter was cautious about using pill bottles to transport paint. 

"I don't think those are air tight, but maybe? Fill it with water and shake it and if it doesn't leak then it should be fine for paint," they said. 

When you think about a product's packaging, which of these factors is more important to you? The way it looks 😍 The information it provides 🧐 The waste it produces 🗑️ I don't think about packaging at all 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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