Do you reuse bottles? Did you know that bottles is something you can reuse to help the environment by saving room in our landfills. Plastic bottles are super handy to have but as Americans we use 28 Billion Plastic bottles each year and only 25% are recycled. That’s a lot of plastic just sitting in our landfills, so let’s start working toward reusing them more often. I try to reuse most bottles that I have and water bottles are one of the ones that I reuse the most.
Refilling my water bottles is something I have done for years but I know some people don’t like too. For a long time, people were scared of chemical leech from the bottle into the water. However, by and large, the effects of this leeching have been dis-proven. Water companies naturally want you to keep buying water rather than refill but I just use my at-home water filter to save myself lots of money! A lot of studies commissioned by water companies show there to be some chemical leech. However, the majority of the scientific community doesn’t see leeching as a significant problem. Bottling companies have since switched their primary message to bacteria. The message is that bacteria can grow in used bottles and may be unsanitary. In reality, that’s also true of any cup sitting on your kitchen counter.
Again, whether or not you reuse your bottles is a personal choice. Just do a little bit of research before you take any negative assumptions you have about reusing bottles for granted. I refill mine after I wash them in the sink with just a little bit of chlorine bleach in the water. It cuts down on the amount we throw away and we recycle the ones that have been used for awhile.
Reuse bottles as a candle:
If you have glass bottles they can be made into candles that are very unique. Fill your glass with wax using an at-home wax kit. Stick the wick out at the top. Drill a few holes down the side of the bottle to allow oxygen in. Then light the wick on fire. You now have a beautiful, glass encased candle made from home.
Reuse bottles as a pen holder:
This one’s simple. Just cut the bottle in half, sand the top down so the edge won’t cut, then use the bottle as a pen or pencil holder. You can spray paint the bottle to make it nicer looking.
There are a lot of ways to reuse bottles. Instead of adding to our 28+ billion bottles this year, why not reuse your bottles?
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