Sunday, February 18, 2018

Trash to Treasure #2 - Corinne's Coupons

My monthly prescription comes in an insane amount of packaging. Forget the paper bag and literature that the pharmacy is required to include, the pills themselves come in a foil + plastic blister packing, plus more paper literature, stickers, a plastic or cardboard "wallet", and all of this is bundled in a plastic wrapper.

Now I'm not going to suggest anyone change their medications. Mine treats a number of symptoms, and I'm not open to alternatives. But we can think about what we do with the waste. In the US alone, 11 Million women are using birth control pills x 12 months a year = 132 million packages a year sent to the landfill. While not the largest source of waste, it's certainly not a laughable number either.

In particular the little wallets are actually useful.  


A little decoration, and these can be turned into:
  • wallet sized photo albums
  • kid's dress-up accessories: FBI badges, superhero badges (an example I found below)
  • business card holders
  • gift card holders
 
This is one of my favorite repurpose ideas I found: a travel sized first aid kit!


Now, while I want to reduce waste, I don't have time or ambition to DIY or re-purpose everything myself. This is where you can utilize community groups that may have crafty folks. I gave these away on my local Buy Nothing group, and the recipient Corinne said she'll be using these to organize the coupons and receipts in her wallet. 

It's super easy to become a hoarder of these things while debating how to use them, or hoping that someone will be interested, so I'm starting to set some guidelines for myself. I've designated an area in my entryway with items to offer up to my local groups, and a box for items that have been posted for over a week. Once that box fills up, it's time to take a trip to donate to the local thrift store.

What are you tossing on a regular basis that seems small, but could be re-purposed?

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