Every year, billions of plastic bottles are purchased and consumed worldwide. Several of them end up in landfills every year. The number of bottles sitting in landfills grows at an alarming rate every year.
Fortunately, this problem is gaining more and more attention on a global level. One of the best ways you personally can help combat this problem is to stop throwing away bottles. Instead, whenever possible, try to reuse them in one of the ways listed below.
Refilling the Bottle
Whether or not to refill your bottles is a personal choice. 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 disproven.
Water companies naturally want you to keep buying water rather than refill. 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.
Use It as a Light Source
Fill your bottle with water, then use it to disperse light much like a light bulb. You can put the light right under the bottle, or lay the bottle sideways and disperse the light horizontally.
There are a lot of creative ways to use this technique. If you plan on having the bottle around as an installation for a long time, put in a bit of bleach to prevent algae and bacterial growth.
As a Candle
This works better with glass bottles than plastic bottles.
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.
You can also do this with a plastic bottle. However, make sure the heat from the candle doesn’t end up melting the plastic. It’s more likely to work with a larger bottle, where the sides are further from the flame.
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 paint or spray paint the bottle to make it more visually appealing.
There are a lot of ways to reuse old bottles. Instead of adding to the billions of bottles this year, why not reuse your bottles?
