Reduce and reuse that $1.75 Glass Bottle

2008 is a year where I pinch my pennies.

I have a nasty habit and love for Gold Peak Iced Tea. I buy one, sometimes two a day...every other day, with my lunch. They run me about $1.75 each.

Thanks you my dad...I'll always feel bad about throwing something of use in the trash. So...Reuse!

Step 1: Collect all your $1.75 Glass Bottles

For 2008 I've decided I need to pinch my pennies.

I have a nasty habit and love for Gold Peak Iced Tea. I'll have one, even two sometimes...daily. Sometimes every other day. They run me about $1.75 each.

So...for the last few months I've been saving them once I finish with the tasty goodness from inside.

Don't throw those bad boys out! Mine being Gold Peak Iced Tea bottles...they're like GOLD to me. I love these bottles. They're nice, tall. Sturdy! Forget plastic water bottles. GET GLASS!!!

Btw...You just paid $1.75 for a drink. You just bought the glass too!

The caps are nice and air tight too, good for resealing!

Comments

[Joe22c]

Hey mate, I love what you're doing and the fact that you're environmentally conscientous.

Couple of things I'd like to point out though; water isn't actaully free; you *do* have to pay for your utlities; or your dad does, or whatever haha.

Next, if you really want to be efficient (I started doing this about last year in my 2nd year of university) you might consider boiling water, transferring that boiled water into glass water bottles (the scalding hot water probably kills more germs than just hot tap water, believe me, I can't touch the outside of the glass bottles after I've made the transfer). Then after a few hours, when the water has cooled down, I just drink it.

Well, that's what I do anyways, since I always boil my water. Just a suggestion :)

[Joe22c]

Oh, and I do this because living on campus is friggin expensive. They charge you like $1.50 canadian dollars for a 500ml bottle which is just rediculous. And because I don't like to waste glass bottles. :)

Even though recycling is better than sticking in a landfill, reusing things is actually better than recycling them because recycling takes a lot of energy to process and transform material from one form to another.

[feces]

WoW!!! seriously, a 500ml bottle for 1.50 canadian dollars is a bargain!!!! In AUstralia bottled water cost like $5.00 australia money (canadian money is weaker than aussie money)!!! And its fake spring water!!!! Canadians should be thankful.

[imshanedulong]

No offense but it's kinda obvious. EVERYONE reuses bottles. Mostly plastic ones, but still.

[neopirater]

Obvious...yes...but, we live in America. People don't even know the word, let alone the meaning. You know...like, It's Obvious that we're In the worst Debt ever. So...reuse glass...its better than plastic. Now if only the metal lids didn't rust. Anyone have any ideas for that solution?

[HaShe]

"love bottles" sells lids for their bottles, might work in yours. I have a bottle that the bottle cap is a sink plug

[Ranie-K]

Are you sure we live in America? I'm pretty sure that the fjord outside my window is Norwegian??

[Grey_Wolfe]

Not everyone reuses, though they should. I agree it is obvious. Sadly, many people are oblivious though. I do like the idea of using glass over plastic. It lasts longer with heavy use, and you don't have to worry about chemical release into you drinks. Though the amount of chemical release from plastic bottles is negligible.

[Kulawend]

You might be able to kill bacteria more effectively by washing out the bottle with hydrogen peroxide.

[wot]

water is FREE? where do you live?

[Kulawend]

I get FREE water from a well. Even if you didn't have a well it's pretty easy to find free water in the city from any old drinking fountain. Hell, free water even falls from the sky! If you can find a way to collect it and filter it you'll have as much free water as you need (as long as it rains enough in your area).

[Grey_Wolfe]

I'm sure it's a fairly comparative statement. Tap water is .5 cents per gallon, give or take. When compared to bottled water which can run more than 7 dollars per gallon if you buy individual 20oz bottles, it's pretty much free. lol

[Charles IV]

I used to do this with fuse but jerks switched to plastic this year. Grr...

[imshanedulong]

LOL I like fuze too but I live in Canada so this economic crisis isn't really effecting me!

[imshanedulong]

There is a contest now that would be PERFECT!

[bobise]

Actually this is a very good idea.
You can keep the bottles even longer, maybe even on the counter if you sterilize them like jam jars. The warm tap water you used is not going to kill the germs like you believe it is, and sugar water is excellent food for them.

Run them through the dishwasher(which gets extremely hot) or if you don't have one boil them in a big pot on the stove or in a pressure cooker(if you happen to have one of those).

Prepare the punch using boiling water and flavoured sugar OR if you prefer JUST PLAIN WATER that is boiling. And then cap immediately, leave about an inch of head space(room for air in the neck). Use the original caps that have been 'cooked' like the water.

The plain boiled water can probably be stored on the counter, the juice might be subject to botulism (which is a very serious food poison) so I would get a professionals opinion on that or store it for a limited time in the fridge.

To learn more about this process, step four in the following instructable talks about sterilizing jars.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Green-Tomato-Preserves/

Cooked jellies can be stored at room temp in sealed jars, but I have been told that the extremely high sugar content deters bacterial growth.

Now I'm going to have to drink some bottled juice so I can do this too.

[neopirater]

Eeeee... Perhaps that's the reason my insides fell out :( Thanks for the info...though, I haven't used this method sense the post. It's good to be noted to other viewers. Just got a dishwasher though...so...That baby does get pretty darn toasty.

[nerdologist]

Great idea and pics. Now I need to get off of my lazy butt and do this.

[membrane]

Nice idea though you also can make HV capacitors for use in tesla coils from glass bottles as well.

[sleeping_gecko]

Nice Instructable! I've done a similar thing, but I made a big batch of hot tea (a couple gallons or so), then put it into a bunch of empty glass bottles (that had been washed out, of course), and added a bit of sugar to each one to sweeten it, and put it in the fridge. A lot of times, if you bottle it hot, the cap will "pop" when you remove it--just like new! Also, a 2 liter bottle works well for mixing up 2 qt drinks (such as some Kool-Aid type drinks). 2L is about 2.1 qts, so you just fill it up near the top with water, add sugar and flavor packet, shake, and refrigerate! Note, though, if you use tall, clear glass bottles (such as Jones Soda bottles), tea is often pretty similar in color to a lot of beers....so somebody might get the wrong idea. Again, great job! Easy, quick, smart reuse for the bottles!

[neopirater]

JUST LIKE NEW!....Thanks for the tip! I used REALLY hot watter this time around, and...just like you said, it made the famous "pop" sounds...which excited me like a little school girl. THANKS!

[The Wizard]

Hey cool, I do the same thing.

[mrmath]

Looks like Snapple bottles will work as well. Also, since you're using a filter, technically, the water isn't free.

[neopirater]

True...but for the cost of the filter, it's probably like tossing 1 cent into the bottle when I fill it.

[mrmath]

If that!

[!Andrew_Modder!]

wow thats really not bad!

[GorillazMiko]

Too smart. :-O Nice Instructable.