I’m on a medication that gets delivered to me in a dramatically over packaged way every two weeks. Part of this packaging is a styrofoam cooler about 27x22x25cm and two unlabeled cold packs.

I currently have 7 of these and expect to be getting them for the rest of my life. Aside from just tossing them, do any of you lot have suggestions for what i can do with all these coolers?

  • MedicsOfAnarchy@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    54
    ·
    2 days ago

    Chop the Styrofoam into little pieces. Place in glass bottle. When the time is right, add gasoline. Now you have napalm. Rag for wick./s <-- this means I’m just kidding and you should never, ever do this or throw it at fascists.

    • ORbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      25
      ·
      2 days ago

      Also, in these situations, you never want to use the rag as a stopper for a bottle filled with gasoline. Instead, you cork the top, soak the rag in oil, and tie it around the bottle neck. Light the rag. When the bottle breaks, it’ll ignite the theoretical napalm.

      Doing this will keep the gas from spilling on you when you throw it. Safety first!

      /s <-- this is all a joke, of course and we definitely don’t condone violence or burning fascists.

    • Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      2 days ago

      Funny enough, I’ve done this before. The big issues is the styrofoam loses its fluff and you end up with a small glob. It’d be more effective to mix it in a bowl and pump it into the bottle.

        • shalafi@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          2 days ago

          Homemade napalm, is, uh, not like the movies. It’s merely a gelatinous substance, that once on fire, burns forever.

          It doesn’t explode. It’s not reactive, to anything. It just sits in a jar until you take a twig and twirl some out, light it on fire.

          Learn some chemistry, some basic science, experiment! Stop getting your ideas from Hollywood.

          • silly goose meekah@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            edit-2
            2 days ago

            Oh I wasn’t trying to say that napalm is super dangerous or anything, to me your phrasing just sounded a bit like you’d be making campfires inside your home so I made a little joke. Of course its n.o big deal if you just use it outside.

  • Snailpope@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    44
    ·
    2 days ago

    Donate to a local food bank, homeless shelter, meals on wheels. Styrofoam containers can be used to store or transport hot or cold foods to those in need.

  • tiredofsametab@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    12
    ·
    2 days ago

    I agree with charity and giving them away as a first priority. However, have you considered building an igloo?

  • empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    22
    ·
    2 days ago

    Donate to food banks or post them up for sale on Craigslist for $5 each. They’re kind of expensive these days and fishermen/campers frequently want them.

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      2 days ago

      I dunno about that. I have a pile of coolers behind the shed, all shapes and sizes, that I’ve picked off the road for free.

      • empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        2 days ago

        I mean yeah, normal coolers arent that hard to find. But, When you’re fishing or bird hunting though it’s often easier to throw a catch in a disposable cooler that doesn’t need to be fully washed and sanitized and won’t permanently end up smelling like whatever you got three weeks ago, because plastic is semi-permeable.

        • shalafi@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          2 days ago

          Oh! I get it now. I don’t hunt or fish. My coolers are for beer and water, easy to wash out, dry in the sun.

          You’re right. If the contents are nasty, just use disposable styrofoam, chunk it in a pickle jar of unleaded, use the napalm to light camp fires. 👍🏻

    • Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      2 days ago

      That’s probably the best option so far, there’s a lot of homeless near me and I’ve got nothing better to give.

  • Bell@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    17
    ·
    2 days ago

    A quick check at amazon shows these costing about $14 each, no doubt much less in bulk but still expensive. Perhaps inquire with the shipper if they would accept them for reuse if cleaned. If the shipper is friendly they might consider setting up a program to collect these from your city and return them for reuse. The shipper could save considerably on costs and you might have found a new business.

  • Lasherz@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    2 days ago

    Depending on the density of the Styrofoam, it can be used as a rainfall simulator for a greenhouse. Water drips through some Styrofoam in a very random way.

    • Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 day ago

      As much as I’d love that for a small greenhouse, these probably wouldn’t work. They’re almost 5cm thick and tight enough that I’ve stood on them without compression or denting.

      • Lasherz@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 day ago

        May be worth running water over one just in case if you are interested in pursuing it. I was so confident that a Styrofoam container for my humira meds would hold water that I filled it up and started walking before realizing it was dripping all over me.

        • Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.worldOP
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          9 hours ago

          Hey, we’re med buddies! Well now I definitely have to at least fill it with water, I’ve got a lot of tropical plants that would love a good rain.

    • dohpaz42@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      2 days ago

      At today’s interest rates and inflation, this is the only viable solution.

      ~How much can I get for selling a kidney on the black market?~

  • NABDad@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    2 days ago

    If they are the right kind of Styrofoam, they can be recycled. See if there’s someplace near you that takes them.

    • CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      2 days ago

      Reduce > Reuse > Recycle

      Don’t skip over Reuse. The coolers are in good condition and odds are even if there was recycling, it would generate more waste than reusing it.

  • Brkdncr@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    2 days ago

    frustrating. I was also getting a steady supply of ice packs. One time one of the ice packs said it could be used as plant fertilizer and I was happy to do so but never saw another one like that.

    I take my trash to a transfer station. The amount of single-use stuff we throw away is frightening.

    I never came up with an answer. I asked my neighbors on an app and they had similar issues with chilled medical delivery.

    • Mike D@piefed.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      2 days ago

      Living in a large metro area I can throw nearly anything in the free section of Craigslist and someone will grab it. Old incandescent light bulbs, exterior door locks with matching keys, and a shower head i didn’t like.

      If it is metal and no one wants it I can take to a recycling place.

  • GrumpyFortuneCat@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    2 days ago

    Make some styrofoam swamp coolers. My AC is not catching up this summer and I have a few of these due to some eyedrops I’ve been getting shipped to me. I’m seriously considering building one until I get my AC serviced when it gets cooler.

    • silly goose meekah@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      edit-2
      2 days ago

      Personally I really don’t think swamp coolers are worth it. If you wanna evaporate water to cool off, do it right on your skin using a damp towel instead of making the air all swampy for a slightly cool breeze. Towel+regular fan is much more effective imo

    • Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      2 days ago

      I’d love that if it weren’t so humid here that they’re functionally useless. Though I am thinking about using them to insulate my attic to reduce heat transfer.