We're all probably cutting down on plastic bottle use, anyway. But when you do use a plastic bottle, its cap often can't be recycled. Do you pitch it, or put it to a new use? Here's one idea that will have you saving the cap to use time and again:
This idea has been floating through a series of forwarded emails and we wanted to share it with you here:
Cut the threaded portion of the bottle neck from the bottle.
Push a plastic bag up through the removed bottle neck, fold the bag down over the neck, and twist on the lid.
This seals the bag, making it air or water tight for storage! So useful for sealing bulk items in plastic bags - isn't that cool?
MORE PLASTIC CAPS ON RE-NEST & APARTMENT THERAPY:
10 No-Fail Decor Tricks & Tips for Small Spaces
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Shaw's Original Fir...
How to Bake a Potato: Three Easy Methods
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
What a great idea!
terrific idea for backpacking/camping. Thanks!
Cool idea but why couldn't you store the items in the plastic bottle itself after washing it and drying it out? The bulk items should be carried in reusable containers anyway and not in plastic bags. That defeats the purpose in my opinion.
Kudos!
@ecokaren, do you store only bulk items in plastic bags? I never do.
@ecokaren: You can reuse the caps with any other plastic bags you want. My local produce market sells a lot of dried fruit and nuts in these kinds of bags and I wear out a lot of twist ties to get to the food. Just replace them with this kind of cap will save me a lot of hassle. It's also easier for kids.
They sell something similar online: here.
When I have to store something in a plastic bag, I just tie the top of the bag in a loose knot. I do this when i buy fresh nuts, also for loaves of bread.No keeping up with random items. I have enough other junk!!!
PS:Good info, though,, I didn't know the caps are not recyclable.
http://www.aveda.com/aboutaveda/caps.tmpl?ngextredir=1
Like ArtsyGirl, I just tie up the top of a plastic bag. But I do have some other ideas for recycling plastic bottle caps.
http://www.recycle-eh.com/apps/blog/entries/search?query=caps&query_temp=caps
I recycle my plastic bottle caps if I have any. Because, well, they're plastic. ;)
Genius!
I've seen where you can buy a similar solution to this, but I never thought of making it myself! Bookmarking this post for sure!
What about the bottle itself? Can it still be recycled? It's possible that cutting it up may make it not recyclable.
What a fantastic, beautifully simple, but effective idea! Nice one.
@ april11 -- good link for Aveda's cap recycling program!
Wow, this is such a great idea! Will give it a go!
Thanks for the great tip.
this is redundant actually...why not store it in the bottle itself...(why get the bottle in the first place!!)...!!
@people calling this redundant, I can think of a lot of things which would fit through the mouth of a bag and not into a water bottle! Obviously some things could be stored in the bottle, but there's no reason to rain on the parade when there really are situations where this could be useful.
Seems like it would be cumbersome to have to hold the edge of the bag onto the cap bottom while pouring, or to reconfigure after each use. I like TwixIt plastic clips to re-seal bags. Much easier and studier than twist ties.
glass jars, anyone?
@susrith and Annie-O - please let me know when you figure out how to fit a loaf of bread in a water bottle/glass jar!
This is a fab idea. I buy a lot of sparkling water, so will definitely save my tops for this. Perfect replacement for those ridiculous bread bag ties that never do the job!
Great idea!
@ecokaren You are not supposed to reuse PET bottles (water, beverages etc). Over time they release chemicals. They are supposed to be used one time only and then recycled.
And better not to use the PET bottles at all. Tap water is supposed to be safe enough to drink but our country's been swindled into thinking bottled is safer. Since bottles are produced with chemicals (like petroleum!) and then continue to release them, the bottles aren't really safe even for one use.
To those saying there are things you couldn't get into a bottle, but could in a bag opening....why are you going to use this cap method?? The cap is the same size as the bottle neck!
ebarrett3...because the whole system is easily removable...including the screwtop part. So you put the big stuff in the bag, leaving enough of the bag at the top to thread through the bottle opening. When you want to access the food, take the whole bottle bit off. Done.
Yes, in an ideal world we wouldn't use plastic bags at all...but let's face it, sometimes it's going to happen.
@Penelope22....that's one heck of a rigmarole to go through. Still sceptical.
I put sunflower seeds out for the birds. The bags I purchase are 10 pounds and I don't have a container big enough for all that seed. I tried your idea with a larger bottle ( 32 oz sports drink-Gatorade) and it worked great - no spilling as I poured the seed into the feeder. Thanks for the great idea.
it sounds good but when i did it on my cereal bag it did not seal so thumbs down
Think bigger bottle, like a Gatorade, new way to seal up the old tatoe chip bag.
pallet wrap
Good heavens, people. It's not like someone is requiring you to use your old bottle caps in this way. Someone had a good idea to reuse something that other people throw away. (To those who suggested just recycling it with the bottle: most recyclers only take the bottles and not the caps). It's not like you're being required to use it. If you don't think it will work for you, don't use it. That doesn't make it a bad idea.