14 Creative Ways To Repurpose Hard-To-Recycle Prescription Bottles

According to Cabinet Health, an estimated 194 billion empty prescription medication bottles are discarded every year. Yet most municipalities won't take the bottles, which might leave you wondering: Are residential curbside recycling services really worth it? The vials are made of recyclable plastic, but it's difficult to process them because of their small size. Animal shelters will often accept bottle donations for their own prescriptions, and there are facilities that will accept them if they're mailed or dropped off. Until thought leaders figure out a better solution, crafters have found ways to repurpose these hard-to-recycle containers around the home and garden.

Some uses are utilitarian, like storing small items such as nails or seeds. Others are decorative and involve turning bottles into things like lampshades and bud vases. Before you start any of these upcycling projects, make sure to empty the bottles, remove and destroy the stickers, and thoroughly wash and dry them. You can use a blow dryer to easily remove the labels or let the bottles sit in hot water until they easily peel off.

Prescription bottles can be turned into precious bud vases for fresh or faux flowers. Crafters sometimes use acrylic paint to create their designs, as it takes really well to the vials. Others use spray paint, which they like for the even coverage, or house paint that comes in affordable sample cans. Regardless, a sealer spray is recommended to protect the paint. When you're done, grab a hot glue gun or Mod Podge and decorate the bottles with beads, lace, ribbons, fabric, paper. and other materials. The designs you can create are limitless.

There are so many reasons to love this upcycle. There's ingenuity. The light casts a warm glow and a golden color. It has a vintage look. The example above took around 90 prescription bottles to transform the broken shade after removing its fabric. With the lids off your bottles, drill holes into bottoms and string fishing line through each. To create levels of varying lengths, use glass beads at the end of the lines. Just don't place the bottles too close to the light bulb.

Prescription bottles can come in handy for storing nails, screws, washers, drill bits, small wrenches, and other bits and bobs in the workshop. To maximize their use within the space, drill the lids into the bottom of a shelf so that the containers appear to be suspended underneath. When you need something, unscrew the bottle to get what you need. Of course, being so small and compact, you can also keep them neatly inside toolboxes, drawers, and organizers.

Another brilliant repurpose for your prescription bottles is turning them into mini ice packs. Just fill them with water and place them in the freezer. Because they're so tiny, they won't take up too much space. This means that you can keep multiple bottles on hand without crowding out bags of food. The ice packs can be used at home for bruises and bumps and also for packing lunches. Those who've tried this hack swear that the bottles never leak, which is great if you're sending one along in a lunchbox.

Losing earbuds and chargers is like a record that keeps skipping, and prescription bottles might just be what the doctor ordered. Use them to store these easy-to-misplace headphones. The bottles are also waterproof, which will help protect these often expensive electronic accessories. And if the earbuds have a cord, stashing them in a bottle will prevent tangling. To make the makeshift case extra special, decorate the outside to show off your unique personality. Or, leave it be to show the world that you're a music lover who also wants to save the earth.

Another lunch-packing technique turns prescription bottles into little salad dressing jars that are perfect for single portions. Pour the sauce into a bottle, pop it in the fridge, and you're good to go! You can prepare a container the night before work or even the morning of. This is another reuse that works well because prescription bottles are said to be leakproof.

If you were priced out of the vintage Merry Mushroom canister craze, here's your chance to make some of your own with prescription bottles. You don't need the lid, but you will need a small plastic cup for the mushroom cap — a fruit snack bowl or a salad dressing container both work well. Paint both pieces (the cup usually in red with white dots) and put the bowl upside down to the top of the vial. You can also skip the adhesive and just place it on top so you can store small items in the bottle.

If you garden, you surely have packets of seeds (maybe even half-used) tucked away somewhere at home. You might also need a place to store seeds harvested from your garden. Well, you're in luck: Prescription bottles are the drug store find that makes storing them even easier. It's important to make sure the containers are bone dry before placing seeds inside of them to thwart mold growth. Luckily, the color of the vessels, often amber, prevents your stash from being exposed to light because the plastic is opaque. Consider writing a description of the variety on the top of each bottle.

Prescription bottles are great for crafters because they can store small but mighty items such as beads, jewels, and needles. It's pretty easy to turn them into multi-compartment organizers that can store supplies such as pipe cleaners, paintbrushes, and markers. Start by removing the tops and using a high-speed rotary tool to carve away the threads from the bottles. Now, group the bottles together and connect them with E6000 (another reason why you should keep the glue in your home). Once you have a shape, use foam to level out the bottom and decorate the piece.

Instead of purchasing starter seed pots, use prescription bottles to get those buds going before planting season. Be sure to drill a hole on the bottom of each bottle to provide drainage. You can also propagate seeds by planting them inside a disposable paper bathroom cup (also with a hole in the bottom) and resting it at the top of a vial. For easier organization, write the name of the seed on the outside of each vial with a marker.

Use bottles as spice jars. If the tops are wide enough, it'll be easier to scoop out the contents with a tablespoon than store-bought spice jars, preventing inevitable spillage. Some even say that the tint on the bottles will help keep spices fresh by shielding it from light. For those with time (or should that be thyme?), decorate each container specifically to the spice that will be inside or create a whole aesthetic that works for your kitchen. The bottles are great for flavorings that come in a bag or a jumbo bottle, a neither of them fit neatly on a shelf.

When you need a go-to kit in every room of the house, prescription bottles make it easy. You can create a mini first aid kit with bandages, antiseptic cream, a thermometer, cotton swabs, and anything else small enough to fit inside a bottle. They're also great for creating sewing kits because they're the perfect size for needles, buttons, and small spools of thread. For feminine hygiene, the bottles make a handy receptacle for tampons to take to work or send to school with your daughter.

When it comes to the Christmas tree, prescription bottles offer the perfect size for fashioning into ornaments. This is an upcycle that can be as imaginative or as basic as time and creativity allow. For a snowman, for instance, you could wrap white yarn around the bottle for the body, using buttons and beads for eyes, nose, and mouth. A strand of yarn can be attached to the top for hanging. If you're extra crafty, you can crochet or knit a small hat. This repurpose also works with empty vitamin bottles.

For artists, crafters, and hobbyists, prescription bottles can be a solution for storing paint and keeping it fresh. Some find it particularly useful for keeping mixtures that have been blended for a custom color and even use the bottle to mix them. There's no reason for tossing the paint when it can be used for other projects. In a plastic prescription bottle, the paint may stay fresh for as long as two weeks. One power tip: The paint will stay even longer if placed in the refrigerator.