Zero Waste: The Medicine Chest

My very old and very flimsy cardboard ‘medicine chest’ was in major need of a Zero Waste overhaul.

It was overflowing with empty boxes, loose half-opened band-aids, expired pills and new medicines I was prescribed but never actually used.

There has been quite alot of media focus on prescription medications, and the over-consumption of modern day medicines.

As a child I was always given some kind of remedy, even if I only looked as though I was going to sneeze.

As a society, we have come along way in the last few years.

As a family, we have managed to use alternate methods to cope with illness and save modern medications as a last resort. Allowing our bodies to utilise their higher intelligence to heal is vital in building immunity and to adapt to the ever-changing environment around us.

It is a more difficult path, but relying on a healthier lifestyle through diet and other body system strengthening methods really does pay off – with reduced chance of illness and barely an outlay for doctors’ fees each year.

A single aspirin can turn a migraine on its heels for me now. It’s quite amazing.

The Zero Waste Medicine Chest

Here are some suggestions to kick off the Zero Waste principle with our medicine chest…

1. 1. Keep only a minimal supply, so you can see what you have.
   2. Ask your chemist if he can reuse your prescription jar.
   3. Choose tablets in a glass or otherwise a plastic jar (usually a recyclable #2). Steer clear of tablets individually wrapped in aluminum/plastic and a box.
   4. Do not buy jumbo size medication jars, they expire way before you can finish them.
   5. Choose metal tubes instead of plastic.
   6. Invest in a Neti Pot – Great to clear out your sinuses with just water and sea salt
   7. Consider a few natural alternatives: herbal remedies, nutrition-based remedies such as an oat bath to sooth dry itchy skin
   8. Clean cuts and scrapes with soap and water, forgo the plastic band-aids and let air-dry
   9. Do not use everyday antibacterial products, they make bad bacteria stronger.
   10. Reconsider your true need for vitamins (as opposed to a healthy varied diet) and use sunscreen moderately…
   11. Make your own sunscreen (a quick and easy recipe coming soon)
   12. Think more along the lines of longer term illness prevention rather than quick fixes for sickness

15 ways to re-use or recycle medicine bottles…

STORE

1. Store seeds saved from fruits, veggies and herbs inside medicine bottles and then label according to the seeds they hold.

2. Glue several bottles next to each other and use the glued collection on your desk as a storage system for all your tiny things: rubber bands, paper clips, hair pins, needles, nails, bolts, screws, matches, etc. Or just place some fresh flowers inside to brighten up your office.

3. If you need a coin holder to place in your purse or your car, place your loose change in the prescription bottles. No more looking everywhere for change especially if you need to pay the toll.

4. Use these bottles to store small toy accessories such as dolly’s earrings or shoes etc

DONATE

5. Donate your empty prescription bottles to your local vet or animal shelters. Some places will take prescription bottles and reuse them to fill prescriptions for the animals.

6. Some free clinics also take empty prescription bottles and reuse them. Ask if you can donate yours to a free clinic in your area.

7. Homeless shelters sometimes take empty prescription bottles. Call your local homeless shelter to find out if they do.

PETS

8. Makes a nice rattle/toy for cats. Put some dried beans inside and close it tight. Then let them play.

ART

9. If you like to paint decorative pieces and buy paint in large sizes to save money you can transfer some paint to these small containers to work on one or two projects at a time without using up all the paint or letting it dry up.

EMERGENCY

10. A Mini Sewing kits would come in handy in a case like this. Some prescription bottles are big enough to store some needles and thread and maybe more.

11. A tiny emergency kit for a cut or scrape can fit in a prescription bottle: band-aids, cotton balls, q-tips and some tiny alcohol wipes.

12. Use to neatly store plastic bags in your purse in case you suddenly need a plastic bag, say during a car ride with someone that tends to get motion sickness

CRAFT

13. Store thread spools in prescription bottles to prevent thread from tangling.

14. Make tiny maracas

15. Store buttons, beads and other small craft items in these bottles.

Sources: The Zero Waste Home, Thrifty Fun

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash