Why You Should Think Twice Before Throwing Away Old K-Cups

According to The World Bank, 2.01 billion tonnes of waste is produced each year. Disturbingly, this number is expected to grow to 3.4 billion tonnes by the year 2050. Though the United States accounts for just four percent of the world's entire population, we throw out twelve percent of the world's trash, as per Environment America.

Recycling or upcycling is a great way to reduce the immense amount of waste produced, and while it's a wonderful reason to make the effort to reuse items, it's not the only one.

When you take something in your house and repurpose it, you're saving money because you're not buying anything. You're also not bringing another item into your home only to be thrown out.

To that end, there are some things you should think twice about throwing away, like K-cups. The best items to upcycle are those that you use on a regular basis and you may be surprised by the ingenuity that some people have for common household items. If you're a K-cup coffee drinker, you'll be delighted by the many uses of these little plastic containers.

If you use plastic one-use K-cups you need to follow certain steps when you throw them away. First, peel off the foil top and throw that in the regular garbage, then toss the plastic cups in the recycling bin (via Consumer Reports). Yet, before you throw them away, you might want to repurpose them in a variety of fascinating ways.

One of the biggest ways to reuse K-cups is to set them aside for organizing small items (via Happy Hooligans). In the office, they can help separate paper clips, push pins, and thumbtacks.

If you're a crafter, empty K-cups can house various buttons, bobby pins, and stickers. You can also use them to hold paint which is especially good for children's small hands during arts & crafts..

K-cups can also help sort various items you randomly save around the house, like bread ties, clips, and screws. You can even use them to sort loose change which always needs a place to go.

After a thorough washing, you can reuse plastic K-cups to store small food items. They can perfectly keep chopped herbs, nuts, seeds, and various small dry food items organized and safe (via Mental Floss). K-cups are also the perfect size to store dipping sauces in the fridge.

In addition, you can pour juice and other flavored liquids in them and freeze them to make popsicles, or you use them as makeshift cube containers.

If you like to grow your food, skip buying seedling containers and use them to start your seeds. Just add some potting soil to each cup along with 2-3 seeds and you're good to go. Even better, add some of the used coffee grounds to them as compost.

When cooking and cleaning are done, use K-cups to make bath bombs using any bath bomb recipe (via Byrdie). Then you can enjoy a luxurious bath the next day knowing you're not only being economical but also helping save the planet.