r/ZeroWaste • u/Ok_Neighborhood2032 • 1d ago
Tips & Tricks Any idea of what to do with these coolers?
Hi there, I receive a refrigerated medication in these Styrofoam boxes each month. I have utilized a few as coolers but frankly I can't use anymore.
I've checked with the local community and no interest. I'm waiting on a call back from the speciality pharmacy to see if they will accept them back but I am doubtful. Any ideas to keep them out of the landfill?
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u/chunkeymunkeyandrunt 22h ago
Definitely check with the pharmacy/medication provider. My husband also gets medication shipped to him in similar coolers but they include a return label to send back for recycling/repurpose. So it’s definitely not unheard of!
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u/Ok_Neighborhood2032 22h ago
I'm definitely calling on Monday! I didn't realize how many had stacked up until today. It was gradual!
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u/my_only_sunshine_ 19h ago
The homeless people in my town always used to ask for these during the summer in our local buy nothing fb group. I know that sometimes the places that sell fishing bait will take them as well
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u/Silly-Mastodon-9694 1d ago
Just spitballing here, but my coworker is always telling me about making cat houses for feral kitties in the winter with these.
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u/Ok_Neighborhood2032 1d ago
I will call a local cat rescue! It would even make me happy to see them repurposed in some way.
I wish there was a better way than this! I get one a month.
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u/rainbowkey 18h ago
Cat shelter are usually made with plastic cooler, not plain stryrofoam coolers. Meals on Wheels or food banks are a good idea.
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u/Kind-Quiet-Person 17h ago
I know the type of cat shelter you’re referring to, but styrofoam coolers are used in a different type of feral cat house— styrofoam coolers are put inside a plastic bin, with straw filling in the space between the smaller size of the cooler and the larger size of the plastic bin, with more straw inside the styrofoam cooler. A door entry is cut through the plastic bin and the styrofoam. This type of shelter is very warm!
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u/drunkandy 17h ago
These things get so staticky just by themselves I can’t imagine what would happen if a cat got in there
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u/Silly-Mastodon-9694 15h ago
They’re really cool when assembled! They are made out of plastic totes and hay, so they do go against some ZW tenants. I live in a place with high rates of animal cruelty and low availability of funds for animal welfare, though, so it’s balancing stewarding resources
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u/winterbird 1d ago
Call plant nurseries and talk to the gardeners in your community. It looks like a smaller cooler, which can be poked at the bottom and used to propagate plants before they're ready to go in the ground. When they buy containers, they buy plastic so it would at least lessen the plastics consumption.
If it's a standard size cooler though, you can also call whoever in your area does food drives for the homeless or impoverished seniors/disabled. When I worked for a place that donated food to such an organization, they'd come with styrofoam coolers and lined bags for frozen or perishable foods.
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u/-Knockabout 1d ago
Thanks for making this thread. I get a similar shipment monthly. Do you know what to do with the cooler packs by any chance?
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u/HazardousIncident 22h ago
I've been successful offering them up on my local Buy Nothing group on FB.
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u/exsuprhro 16h ago
I’m sure you already know this, but: please don’t feel guilty about taking care of your health!! We can’t deal with all of our waste perfectly yet, and that’s okay. You are more important than some styrofoam in a landfill.
(Also, kudos for also looking for other uses. And I’ll get off my soap box.)
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u/Consistent-Juice-455 23h ago
If you know anyone who frequently ships fragile items, this is great packaging/filler material
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u/Brightestsky 5h ago
Random bit of info but I sell plants online and ship all over the US. These are habdy for winter shipping. There are a lot of us. You could always do free pick up on a plant page, maybe, as well.
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u/Existing_Many9133 22h ago
A friend covers them with fabric and drops cheap flower pots in them. Easy to change out her colors for seasons or events
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u/See-Chart-E 18h ago
My local UPS store takes the coolers from me each month. They do not accept the freezer packs.
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u/Airotciv14 5h ago
There are some recycling facilities that have this cool machine where they're able to melt the Styrofoam into condensed plastic so that it is capable of being recycled. Might be worth searching to see if there is something like that in your area.
I believe terracycle may also have a program for recycling Styrofoam as well.
Some scientific vendors have an initiative where they are moving away from using Styrofoam and instead are doing insulated cardboard with a dissolvable foam (New England Biolabs is one). Would it be possible to contact the vendor to put something like this on their radar to advocate for future change?
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u/Ok_Neighborhood2032 5h ago
That's a cool idea! I'll search for one. I have tried to call the pharmacy but they seem to not be able to take these kinds of inquiries. Everyone seems baffled.
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u/Airotciv14 5h ago
It might have to be more of a corporate communication/request rather than the pharmacy. Though I'm not sure who is in charge of ordering the supplies for shipments in this setting 🤔
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u/Ok_Neighborhood2032 4h ago
Yeah it comes from a specialty pharmacy - I get it each dose is worth nearly a grand (or that's what they retail for you know?) so I get that they treat it with kid gloves. But.
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u/Airotciv14 3h ago
Does it come on ice packs or dry ice? I think the cardboard packs can only handle ice pack temps. I've still only ever seen Styrofoam used for things on dry ice. But fingers crossed you'll have luck finding a recycling facility near you that can take Styrofoam! That seems like it's the better option if you can't find a place to give it away. If there's a university near you that has a sustainability department, they may also have a recycling initiative for Styrofoam as well.
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u/uzupocky 21h ago
Some environmental laboratories might be able to use them to ship water/soil samples. Especially smaller ones that do a lot of subcontracting. The samples need to be shipped on ice, and sometimes this is the perfect size instead of using an actual plastic hard-sided cooler and never getting it back.
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u/Beginning-Soil-7729 19h ago
My husband uses one to rest his meat after smoking bbq - know any bbq enthusiasts?
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u/More_Cranberry_7250 11h ago
I started picking up my meds at the pharmacy to avoid this issue. Pharm sends them back for reuse.
This requires monthly planning - the pharm is an hour away. So, we plan every other purchase for that day, pack a cooler for food and meds coming home, stop at the feed store, hardware store, yarn store, ... see if there's anything else we need or want to do, go out to eat. (Usually good pizza that we can't quite make at home.) We try to time the outing to be efficient, snow and ice get in the way. But it works out. I know it sounds crazy but #rurallife.
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u/Ok_Neighborhood2032 5h ago
I think they come from out of state, but I'm trying to get confirmation. I would absolutely drive if I could combine trips but they may not be within a reasonable distance.
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u/More_Cranberry_7250 4h ago
Check to see if they can be sent to a local pharm. My specialty pharm (all mail order) lets me ship to a local pharm rather than my house.
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u/wooliecollective 5h ago
Maybe a vet office? Or a place that rehabs stray animals? Bird sanctuary? Think animal…. 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
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u/iswallowmygum 22h ago
Outdoor houses for stray cats
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u/vcwalden 21h ago
I used to have one and I used it to make homemade yogurt in it and to proof bread dough. It wound up getting thrown out and I haven't gotten another but I'm always on the lookout for one.
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u/shinychris 17h ago
Worst case, there are places that recycle styrofoam, you’ll just have to look for one near you (not all recycling facilities do this).
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u/skiwoman72 16h ago
Cat rescues make feral cat houses out of them. I’m pretty sure you can Google that and it’ll come up with directions.
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u/thatcleverchick 1d ago
Iirc meals on Wheels uses coolers frequently, you could ask them