If you have a green thumb, own an abundance of empty spice jars, and want to give some glassware a second life, one thrifty home enthusiast has a hack for you.
The scoop
Joy (@homeamongthepines) shared a video on Instagram showcasing how she repurposes her old glass spice jars.
"Here's an upcycle for you," she says. "Don't throw away those empty spice jars. They're a great way to store your seeds for your garden for next year."
The jar is the perfect size for storing seeds. "I mean, how cute is that?"
How it's helping
Unfortunately, although glass is completely recyclable, most still ends up in the trash. The Glass Packaging Institute reported that in 2018, only about one-third of glass containers for food and beverage were recycled. The glass that is thrown away or improperly recycled can take hundreds or thousands of years to degrade naturally.
Upcycling hacks like this one help divert glass from landfills, reduce the strain on our natural resources, and lower energy consumption.
Glass jars are super versatile when it comes to upcycling, too. Old hot sauce bottles can become candle holders, and your mason jars can turn into snowglobes.
If you don't want to upcycle, glass should be recycled. According to Recycle Now, "Glass is 100% recyclable and can be endlessly recycled with no loss of quality." So, even if your glass jar isn't destined to be a terrarium, recycling will still make it into something new.
To promote sustainability, many organizations will help you get rid of your old stuff responsibly, and some will reward you for doing so. GotSneakers, for example, will help you send in your old shoes, and you'll earn money for every pair. ThredUp allows you to sell your old clothes and thrift shop online.
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What everyone's saying
Fellow gardeners in the comment section appreciated Joy's idea.
"I've been harvesting my cosmo seeds. Never thought to put them in a jar," one user said. "Thanks for the inspo!"
Another user had already been using the hack and offered some valuable advice: "Adding a label [to the jar] is a great idea!"
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