Got a ton of empty pill bottles and no clue what to do with them? YouTuber Appalachian Andy (@AppalachianAndyOutdoors) has a great tip for outdoorsy folks.

The scoop

This easy fire kit uses a pill bottle, matches, and jute twine.

Andy stores the matches in the bottle facedown before cutting off a 1.5-inch piece from the matchbox's strike strip. He then tapes it to the inside of the bottle cap, which he says will "help prevent and reduce the risk of moisture."

As for the twine, Andy uses about 2 feet of it. He rubs the fibers in his hands to create a tinder bundle and sticks it in the bottle on top of the matches.

"Now you've got a fire kit that is lightweight, compact, and water-resistant," he says.

How it's helping

Instead of buying a fire-starting kit from Amazon for $30, you can create one that's cheap and easy to carry around.

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Plus, it gives you a way to reuse those pesky pill bottles. While some are recyclable, they're usually too small to be processed through regular curbside recycling and are often sent to landfills, per Consumer Reports.

However, this isn't a one-size-fits-all issue. For example, several pharmacies across the country have established their own recycling programs. Tim Davis, a pharmacy owner, told Consumer Reports: "We throw them into a shredding bin, and we have a vendor that shreds and recycles the plastic."

This is why it's important to know your recycling options. If you don't have anywhere near you that does this, though, it's best to find ways to reuse them. This helps cut down on plastic pollution, which harms the planet and has serious health effects.