Reusing plastic food containers is a great way to recycle. One Redditor found a way of doing it that they loved, despite the concerns of some commenters.
The original poster put up a picture of a basil plant growing out of an old sour cream container. They captioned it, "Pass the sour cream, please." In a later comment, they explained further: "I have a sour cream obsession, and throwing out all those plastics is wasteful, so I've begun repurposing them as plant containers for my general kitchen herbs."
The plant appears to be thriving in its new home and looks like it might go very well mixed with some actual sour cream.
One commenter had issues with this method of reusing plastic containers. "Just be careful with plastic, especially thin plastic like that," they said. "Light and water will make it brittle and could easily break or leach into the soil."
However, most people were supportive of their efforts.
Supporting this kind of plastic reuse makes sense. According to King County GreenWorks, recycling in general is less expensive than putting trash in landfills. People like this Redditor save money on supplies, too. Pots for gardening are not cheap, and they avoid those costs when they reuse plastic containers instead.
Beyond that, reducing waste can have a larger impact on the planet as a whole, too. The University of Colorado Boulder says that reusing items slows landfill growth, saves energy, helps fight the impact of a changing climate on both freshwater and agriculture, and saves energy.
You can help reduce waste, too, not only by finding a use for old plastic containers. Start by doing things like bringing your own multi-use container to restaurants, recycling with TrashieCash, and cleaning out your closet with ThredUp.
Most of the commenters on the original Reddit post seemed to agree that, overall, the person who posted was doing a good thing.
One said, "I love this! This is super cute!"
Another joked, "I think you left the sour cream in the fridge a little too long."
Someone else even offered an additional idea, saying, "Back when I had a Keurig, I started all my garden seedlings in repurposed k-cups! I love it!"
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