Good news – you can live sustainably and still use your existing plastic containers. It’s actually more environmentally friendly to utilize what you already have instead of buying new. But knowing that it isn’t in our health’s best interest to heat our food in plastic containers, what do we do with them?
Most of us have a cabinet overflowing with mismatched containers and lids that never seem to have a mate. Seriously, why are there always more lids than containers? It has to be some kind of evil magic.
Instead of throwing out my plastic containers, I’ve been utilizing them around my house and have found that they make my sustainable lifestyle a little easier. Here are a few ways to utilize those plastic containers.
30 Useful Ideas for Plastic Storage Containers
- toiletries in the shower to avoid breaking
- toiletry storage during flights to protect from spillage
- jewelry
- toy blocks
- nuts and bolts
- seeds
- craft supplies
- medicine
- store dry goods in the pantry
- store dry goods while camping
- food storage while backpacking
- food and water bowls for pets
- doggy bag dispenser
- pet medicine
- treat dispensers
- bird seed storage
- store frozen produce
- office supplies
- use containers to organize drawers
- leftovers – please do not reheat food in plastic containers
- cords
- keep memory cards together
- snacks on the go
- tea storage
- baby proofing
- use them to gift DIY cookies, brownies, or bread
- give them to your kiddos as bath or sandbox toys
- make them into repurposed gift boxes
- use them to plant seedlings or herbs
- rag dispenser
And I’m sure there are dozens of other ingenious ideas to reuse your plastic containers. What do you do with yours?
Totally agree you should utilise those! I sometimes use mine for short term storage of dry food, like bringing berries home safely from the farmers market 🙂
Just a quick question… what's the harm of using plastic containers for food storage? Provided you're not heating your food up in them, they seem like a viable alternative for storage. We have quite the collection of tupperware, and they come in handy for storing leftovers and dry goods. I often bring my lunch to work/school in them, and if it needs reheating, pop it onto a plate in the office. As much as I would like an aluminum lunchbox, I'm a student on a budget who doesn't want to purchase new things as long as I have something comparable at home.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with using them for food storage. I just advise, above, to not reheat your food inside the plastic container to prevent any BPA leach. If you don't have to buy new items, then don't. That's the message I'm trying to relay as many people assume that going zero waste means throwing out all of their plastic and buying new which turns out to be more wasteful. 🙂
Yes, I take mine to the farmer's market too. Only because I'm clumsy and worry I'll break a glass jar, ha! 🙂
They are great for collecting spare change. I keep mine in a clear bottomed plastic jar with a screw on plastic lid. I cut a slot at the top.
You could do the same thing with smaller plastic containers with snap-on lids and make a fine-motor building game for little kids. Good for practicing inserting and sorting.
I took my container for berries to the Farmers Market. Before the purchase I asked the vendor if they send their Berry Baskets back to the Farmer. The reply was “no, we just toss them”. I explained what I was tying to do, but it fell on deaf ears. I’d like to know what to do. Also, I’m in Southern California within Los Angeles. There are not any Dairy Farms that I can drive to to get my own Milk or Eggs to fill my own vessels. What to do.