TikToker Padraic Stanley (@padraicstanley) transformed strings of decorative white lights into spooky Halloween decorations by placing empty prescription pill bottles over the lights to create a soft orange glow. They posted a video of the results.
“Why didn’t I think of this?” one commenter said.
The scoop
The video showed that by creating a hole for the light in the bottle cap and placing a light through the hole and into the bottle, the bottles stayed securely on the strand. The labels were removed so that the lighted bottles glowed orange — a great look for Halloween. The bottles were placed on each lightbulb in some areas of the strands and at periodic intervals in other areas to add visual interest.
How it’s helping
Anyone who takes medication regularly understands how those orange plastic pill bottles can accumulate. Recycling them is a good idea, but finding a way to repurpose them in a creative way is a lot more fun and serves the same purpose of keeping them out of landfills.
It is important to reduce our plastic usage and keep as much plastic out of landfills as we can because plastic waste is harmful to the environment. This is particularly true of single-use plastics that are quickly discarded and can have a larger impact.
Plastic is not biodegradable, so it does not decompose like organic materials do. Instead, it breaks down into small pieces called microplastics, which pollute our waterways and are often consumed by animals and even humans. The plastic waste can have harmful effects on human health and marine life.
By choosing products made of other materials like reusable glass or stainless steel and opting for products with plastic-free packaging, we can reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills and waterways. By opting for products made from other materials, we also reduce demand for plastic production, which also helps to reduce the amount of plastic in our environment.
The repurposing of the plastic prescription pill bottles into a holiday decoration is an excellent example of how thinking creatively about something we may otherwise just thoughtlessly toss into the trash can make a difference.
What everyone’s saying
People who watched the video of the prescription bottle string lights were amazed and also found humor in the creative repurposing of the plastic vessels.
“I hate it when people are funnier than me,” one commenter said.
“This is some of the best up cycling I’ve seen,” one TikToker said.
One commenter simply said, “ICONICCC.”
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