From pickle jar to storage container, that was normal in my house.

I've been thinking about how we kept glass jars from pickles to use again. In my home, we had a shelf full of these jars, each with a piece of tape to say what was inside. Today, most people just put them in the recycling bin or throw them out. We kept them for years, but now it's easier to buy plastic boxes or bags. Does buying new stuff really help the planet when old jars do the job? It feels like we've moved away from a habit that was better for the environment. What do you think, do we toss things too quickly these days?

2 comments

2 Comments

ericking2d ago

Nostalgia for old jars is nice, but it ignores real problems. Those jars take up a huge amount of cabinet space and are a pain to wash and label properly. Buying a cheap, stackable plastic container saves time and space for busy people. Modern recycling is pretty efficient, and constantly reusing old food jars can be a hygiene issue if they aren't cleaned perfectly. Sometimes buying the right new thing is just the smarter choice.

murphy.emery2d ago

What's the actual energy cost of washing and melting those jars for recycling? The recycling process itself uses a ton of resources, so reusing them even for years skips that whole industrial step. We traded a simple, closed loop for a complicated, energy hungry one.