Plant enthusiasts will often turn to hydroponics if they are without space to garden outdoors. This type of gardening can grow plants without soil, instead using nutrient-dense water. 

Hydroponics, as well as vertical gardening, can get expensive, which is why one Redditor's tip involving leftover household plastic garnered a positive reaction.

The scoop

The user shared their unique take on nutrient mixing using leftover plastic pill bottles. They posted their experience in the r/Hydroponics subreddit.

"It's nutrients mixing day," they wrote. "Time to relocate some mint and basil cuttings."

The images show the herbs growing inside pill bottles, with their root systems soaking in the nutrients placed inside. Posed behind them are glass bottles and syringes.

How it's helping

Gardening is a very valuable skill that takes a lot of time, effort, patience, and often start-up funds. If you grow your own food, it is likely to taste better than the produce you can find at your local grocery stores, simply because the food miles required to get to you reduce from thousands to zero. A study published in Nature Food reported that 20% of global food emissions come from food miles alone, adding up to 3 billion tons every year.

By educating other Redditors about this option, the original poster is offering a tip that not only saves gardeners money from buying other vessels, but also lengthens the lifespan of the single-use plastic in their household.

Unfortunately, 95% of all plastic is only used once before it's tossed, according to a report by McKinsey. By finding new ways to use plastic that go beyond its intended short-term use, this tip helps consumers save household plastic from entering our landfills and oceans. According to Statista, the average individual in the U.S. contributes more than 485 pounds of plastic waste every year. Worldwide, around 330 million tons of plastic are disposed of annually, according to Statista.

Pill bottles have more uses for gardening than just nutrient mixing. Pill bottles can be used for storing leftover seeds or for keeping dried herbs after harvest. Once you are done using your pill bottles, you can look up the best recycling options for you so your trash is sorted accordingly in your area.

What everyone's saying

The comment section on the Reddit post was filled with support and uplifting comments.

What is the biggest reason you don't grow food at home? Not enough time ⏳ Not enough space 🤏 It seems too hard 😬 I have a garden already 😎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"Your hydro setup is neater than my house," one Redditor commented.

"We [found] another use for our old pill bottles," another responded.

One user won the comment section with a humorous addition. "I'm just gonna come out and say it - everything in this photo is sexy."

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