The advantages of recycling have finally gotten through to most of the population, but before it is tossed in the recycle bin you might consider how daily items could be reused first. For example: plastic straws. Many communities are banning local restaurants from automatically providing their customers with plastic straws because so many end up in landfills or floating in the ocean along with flimsy cheap plastic cups and lids.
A restaurant near me serves their beverages in sturdy plastic cups with strong lids and straws that frequently survive an unexpected drop on the ground. These are the kind of cups you really want to keep around! They used to refill these large cups for less than a dollar until Covid restrictions stopped that practice. I have dozens squirreled away which I use at home whenever I plan to work out in the hot sun for a few hours. They make great travel cups.
Other drink cups are just the right size to plant seeds in during February that will be set out in the garden come April. All they need is a drainage hole. I set them in the sunroom in big plastic boxes and usually have more than enough to share with friends and fellow gardeners.
People with medical issues are saddled with unrecyclable plastic prescription bottles in varying sizes. The uses for them are legion! Gardeners who collect seeds from year to year love that the amber colored plastic helps protect viability.
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