Tuesday, April 29, 2008

101 Ways to Reuse a Nalgene Bottle

Nalgene recently announced they will be phasing out their hard-plastic bottles that are made with bisphenol A. This moves comes in response to growing concerns over the health risks of the chemical. Today, I welcome a guest blog entry from my sister as she explores clever ways to reuse a Nalgene bottle. Feel free to share your ideas and add to her list.. MD

101 Ways to Reuse a Nalgene Bottle
BY AMY KOBAK


During a casual conversation with my coworkers this morning, I asked if they had heard that Nalgene is no longer making their hard plastic bottles. One of my coworkers replied that she had seen a segment on The Today Show and proceeded to throw all of her hard plastic bottles away. I was struck by her words. She threw them all away.

Reduce, reuse, recycle. Those are three words we often hear but it seems recycle gets most of the attention. Although many people may not be throwing away their water bottles, I think we quickly need to bring “reuse” to the attention of all those planning on doing just that.

Years ago, I converted my favorite pink Nalgene bottle into a watering can for my plants at school. This occurred after catching a person I barely knew taking a sip out of it. I was simply too distraught to ever use it again. While sitting at my desk this morning, looking at my pink watering bottle and thinking about what my coworker had said, I decided to take a few minutes with a few of my middle school students to brainstorm more uses for the Nalgene bottles. Hopefully, word will spread and these and many more creative uses will save the Nalgenes from the landfills.

Vase (remove the cap)
Water bottle for non-drinking purposes
Bug catcher (catch and release)
Pollywog catcher (catch and release)
Hold your fish while cleaning the tank
Hold pet food for travel
Make a 1st aid kit and keep it in your car
Pen, pencil, or magic marker holder
Protective case for glasses or sunglasses
Protective case for delicate items when traveling
A hat, for when you need to draw names out of a hat
Nail holder or even a nail polish holder
Create a travel game and keep the pieces in the bottle
Collection keeper for buttons, ticket stubs, bottle caps…
Spare change keeper (Donate to your favorite charity when you fill it up)

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