Where can you sell empty prescription bottles?
By Brenda from Fairhaven, MA
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You may be able to recycle them, but you won't be able to sell them. They can't be re-used for other medications. Pills tend to leave a bit of themselves in the bottle and combining that drug with another could be dangerous. Washing them out and using them for crafts etc may be a way to go as well. Whatever you do don't forget to take the label off or mark the information out with a dark marker, you don't need to share that information.
You can recycle them. Take them to your pharmacy and drop them off. Or you can recycle them for your own purposes, like buttons or bead.
I too have been looking for a "taker" for my prescription bottles. I have about 6 per month, which adds up. I can't stand the idea of these going into the landfill, but pharmacies don't take them.
I don't think you can sell them. I use 8 prescriptions a month & my husband uses 4. I saved for a couple of years until I had a couple of boxes of them. I couldn't see throwing them out either. Finally, I found a few churches who would take them for their kids' religious classes. The kids can make snowmen out of them. I found the idea on Crafts.com, copied it & took it to each of the churches with about 100 bottles each. Also, there are homeless shelters that will take them. They put items like buttons, thread in them to give to the homeless as little sewing kits. Check with your local churches & shelters.
You can cut the top and bottom off and make rings out of them, not for your finger, but rings to make mobiles or ornaments for a Christmas tree. Just glue little birds or something inside the rings after you spray them gold or silver, Add a hanger and hang them on the tree.
I pull the labels off mine and when I have collected 10 or mare I take them to my local vet. He is always glad to get them for helping cut the cost of meds for our animals.
I pitch the caps of mine and put one mothball in each bottle. I set one prescription bottle in each bucket (on the top) of my birdseed. Seal the bucket. Have been doing this for years, kills the seed moths if seed is on hand too long, have never had a problem with feeding this seed to my birds.
I pitch the caps of mine and put one mothball in each bottle. I set one prescription bottle in each bucket (on the top) of my birdseed. Seal the bucket. Have been doing this for years, kills the seed moths if seed is on hand too long, have never had a problem with feeding this seed to my birds. I know someone will freak out and write not to do this, but it works for me.
I like the idea of making sewing kits for homeless shelters.
I am not aware that you could sell them but you can certainly donate them. I wait till I have a goodly amount saved up and take to a local animal hospital.
You can make toothbrush holders out of them. If it has the safety tabs cut them off, then cut a small hole in the top. It should be enough for the handle to fit through, then pop or screw the top back on the bottle.
I like the idea of taking them to the vet to reuse. I also will wash them out real well and put lotion in them to carry in my purse. I will put some hand soap in the other one because I do not like the soap that is in the public rest rooms it is just to drying for my chroinc dry skin and makes my skin crack and bleed.
I label mine like a pill box such as Monday AM, Monday Noon, Monday PM and when I have my prescriptions refilled I sort them for a week at a time or more. I have even just put a piece of scotch tape on them and date them so we don't lose track of taking our medicines.
Actually someone is selling them on eBay, or was a couple of months ago. You could post them on Craigslist or FreeCycle.
Used prescription bottles are not safe for food since medications can leach into the plastic, and then back out into your food, but like others here, I couldn't see putting them in my recycle bin without at least trying to see if anyone wanted them. I posted on Craigslist in the 'for sale/wanted' section to see if anyone wanted them, and I had 4 responses within a couple of hours. One person wanted them to store beads and beading supplies, another to organize and store electronic parts, another wanted them to organize small craft supplies and one wanted them for a film he's making about the prescription drug industry. 2 of the people who wanted them said they'd check back with me in a few months to see if I had more.
My DH put together a toolbox for a friend and he used a whole bunch of prescription bottles to hold different sizes of nails, screws, bolts and washers and the like.
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