Prescription bottles

[deb4o]

I know I have the right group, and that you will have wonderful idea on what to do with empty prescrition bottles.At my house we have about 7 a month, but I do home health care, and I see dozens of these things go in the trash a month. What a waste,our recycle center doesn't take them. I have racked my little brain for ideas. Of course I use them to hold a variety of small things, and I also use a big one as a glass in my bathroom.So any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[big brown horse]

Here are some ideas:

Here is the site I got it from
: http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/daily-green-tips/recycle-prescription/

STORAGE
1. Store seeds inside the bottles and then label the bottles according to the seeds they hold. Seeds that need to be kept cold can easily be placed inside the fridge in these bottles.

2. Glue several bottles next to each other and use the glued collection on your desk as a storage system for all your tiny things: rubber bands, paper clips, hair pins, needles, nails, bolts, screws, matches, etc. Or just place some fresh flowers inside to brighten up your office.

3. If you need a coin holder to place in your purse or your car, place your loose change in the prescription bottles. No more looking everywhere for change especially if you need to pay the toll.

4. Use these bottles to store Barbies high heels, jewelry etc.

DONATION
5. Donate your empty prescription bottles to your local vet, animal shelters, Some places will take prescription bottles and reuse them to fill prescriptions for the animals.

6. Some free clinics also take empty prescription bottles and reuse them. Ask if you can donate yours to the free clinic in your area. Right now North Point needs large prescription bottles.

7. Homeless shelters sometimes take empty prescription bottles. Call your local homeless shelter to find out if they do.

PETS
8. Makes a nice rattle/toy for cats (not babies). Put some dried beans inside and close it tight. Then let them play.

ART
9. If you like to paint decorative pieces and buy paint in large sizes to save money you can transfer some paint to these small containers to work on one or two projects at a time without using up all the paint or letting it dry up.

Food
Note: I have read in several places that it is not wise to use prescription bottles for any kind of food storage due to the residue that some prescriptions leave behind so please use caution if you decide to use any of the food storage tips below.

10. Here is an early valentine gift idea that involves reusing brown prescription bottles. Susan from Houston, TX fills hers up with chocolate kisses, relabels them "Rx for a Happy Valentine's Day, lots of hugs and kisses!" and then gives them to the people she loves.

Caution: Putting candy in a prescription bottle can confuse a child. Please be careful about where you place these reused prescription bottles and your real ones. Children cant tell the difference between one and the other.

11. Turn prescription bottles into saltshakers. Paint the bottles or leave as is. Poke tiny holes in the caps then fill them with salt or pepper and use them as saltshakers.

12. If you pack salad for lunch a prescription bottle is a tiny storage place to store some salad dressing.

EMERGENCY
13. You never know when your clothes will rip or youll loose a button. A Mini Sewing kits would come in handy in a case like this. Some prescription bottles are big enough to store some needles and thread and maybe more.

14. A tiny emergency kit for a cut or scrape can fit in a prescription bottle: band-aids, cotton balls, q-tips and some tiny alcohol wipes.

15. Use to neatly store plastic bags in your purse in case you suddenly need a plastic bag, say during a car ride with someone that tends to get motion sickness

CRAFT
16. As part of a quilting tip quilt designer Mark Lipinski suggest to store thread spools in prescription bottles to prevent it from tangling. See how here.

17. Melt them and make them into jewelry. This is supposed to be a fun kids craft. For instructions on how to melt certain types of prescriptions bottles go here.

Note: I do not know what kind of pollution this release in the air. For less air pollution maybe they can just be cut into pieces.

18. Make tiny maracas

19. Store buttons, beads and other small craft items in these bottles.

20. Make a Snowman Christmas Ornament out of a prescription bottle. For directions go here.

21. If you live in Canada you can contact PHARM-ECOLOGICAL ON-LINE!. They work with pharmacies to recycle plastics including prescription bottles.

Most pharmacies dont recycle prescription bottles because in some cases pharmacies dont have the equipment or manpower to do it. Prescription bottles have to be cleaned and sanitized before they are reused.

 

[sylvie]

Here's more on this very subject!!! :
http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1731

I loved the idea of them as popscicle molds.

 

[big brown horse]

Thanks Sylvie!

Also ask some of your area preschools to see if they need them for crafts.

 

[Ldychef2k]

A survivalist would tell you to put cotton (real cotton) balls in them and a gob of petroleum jelly, then use them for firestarters.

 

[sylvie]

A survivalist would tell you to put cotton (real cotton) balls in them and a gob of petroleum jelly, then use them for firestarters.

Dumb question: We aren't burning the container-just storing the fire balls in it?

 

[patandchickens]

Someone on BYC used them to make the ventilation airholes on a homemade incubator easily closeable. (Holesaw hole through insulated wall of whatever you're using; cut bottom off plastic vial; glue in place; put cap on to close, remove cap to open e.g. during end of incubation period).

Pat

 

[deb4o]

Thanks everyone I knew you would all have great ideas, and BBH thats a wonderful site.
Sylvie great info and thanks for the link.
You all are a wonderment.

 

[jellybeanme]

Yes, a cotton ball soaked in vasoline will burn a long time. Long enough to get wet kindling burning. We use it when it's a cold day snowmobiling and we stop to warm up.
Also, we fish a lot. Those are great for storing fishing lures, and separating them and even putting in a backback for fishing. They also get used in the shop for nuts and bolts.

 

[lorihadams]

We make scent bombs with them for hunting. Put a cotton ball in it and then squirt it with doe pee/attractant and place nearby your tree stand. Works really well during the rut. We also use them to store tampons soaked in attractant and then hang the tampons in a tree nearby or attach a string to the tampon string and tie it to your shoe and use it as a drag rag when walking to your stand. It'll lead the boys right to you!