Dog foster parent shares critical item most animal shelters need: ‘Didn’t even think of it as an option!’

As much as we all might like to not contribute to plastic waste, in many cases plastic products are simply impossible to avoid — such as, for example, the plastic pill bottles that medication comes in. But there are ways to reuse those bottles, as one Reddit thread pointed out.

“Returning pill bottles from my foster dog to the shelter’s clinic! Most animal shelters take used pill bottles from anywhere!” wrote the thread’s original poster, sharing with the other members of the r/ZeroWaste subreddit.

Some animal shelters have solicited donations of empty medication bottles. In other cases, you can contact your local shelter to see if they are in need and accept donations. GoodRx also recommends reaching out to clinics and homeless shelters.

Unfortunately, although most pill bottles are made of recyclable plastic, many facilities are unable to recycle them due to their small size. That places them in the same category as 95% of plastic waste in the United States that is not recycled.

Other methods of reusing plastic pill bottles include small storage containers for seeds, foodstuffs, or anything else that fits in there. One mom recently shared a video showing how she repurposes the bottles into little ice packs for her kids. There is also a charity based in Ohio that collects the bottles and sends them overseas to disaster victims.

“Now I want to ask my local animal shelter if they need pill bottles,” wrote one commenter on the Reddit thread. “Didn’t even think of it as an option! There is so much waste regarding pets.”

“I foster for a small animal rescue WE USE THESE and are always accepting donations because we need so many!! Thank you for this post!!” wrote another.

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.