Earlier this year while out riding for some unknown reason I started to take notice of the crazy amount of empty Fireball liquor bottles that were tossed on and alongside the road. There are other brands of liquor bottles as well but Fireball seems to be the most popular. I assume these are being tossed out car windows and that’s a scary thought to think as we’re riding down the same roads. That’s not what not what this post is about though.
At some point I started snatching up some of the bottles that were in good condition with lids.
I bring them home, clean them and have found a variety of uses for them, many of them bike related…
Storing fuel for my alcohol stove for when we ride for coffee outside.
Storing small bike parts like cable and cable housing ends.
Carrying my homemade hand sanitizer.
Speaking of which I just made this clip on carrier for it out of an old inner tube and a carabiner.
A few other uses are carrying oat milk and agave nectar for our coffee outside rides and soy sauce when bike camping.
In the beginning I was stopping to pick all the good ones up but quickly realized there are so many I would never make it to my destination if I kept it up. I’m a lot more discriminating now.
Edit: To show how the bottle jacket was made. This is the smallest of the bottle sizes.
I cut a cross section of a really fat inner tube the width of the bottle and then cut a hole in it for the neck of the bottle. I then cut another sliver of cross section of the tube to make a rubber band to hold the carabiner on.
Very creative Randy. And the good you have done for the environment ;’-). I would like to see how you made that holder for the hand sanitizer ;’-).
Thanks Nancy. If you revisit the post, I’ve edited it at the bottom to explain the little bottle holder.
Thanks for the bottle holder details ;’-). Now to find a FAT tube.
You’re welcome. I’m not even sure what size the tube I used is. I just have a chunk of it stashed away. It does seem fatter than 2.125 inch tubes I have. Maybe a 2.125 tube would work.
Yes, please expand on how you made the holder\carrier. A quick peek on Google images reveals some additional ideas, like salt and pepper shakers, a night light shade, party lights, and more. You could figure out the right amount of water to put in each, freeze them, and have the convenience of cooler-ice without the melted mess that real ice makes. I made a guitar pick out of one, but the label peeled off grossly. They are a pesky problem for litter-haters. By far the most common”nipper” bottle I see on the roadside here in central Iowa. It seems strange that the same mind that thinks enough to put the lid back on an empty bottle is the same mind that has no problem throwing plastic out of the car window. Duh.
Greg I’ve edited the post at the bottom to explain the little bottle holder. I never thought to Google how people are repurposing them. I’ll have to do that. Yes good point about the lids. Thanks for the comment.
Love your creativity, Randy.
Thanks Annie.
Also, those little bottles are, I believe, 100% recyclable. I like to carry a wadded up grocery bag just for this type of cleanup. Great site & ideas!
Yes. I too carry a grocery sack for trash I pick up.
Randy, my wife and I work as volunteers in a Texas State park and we have been finding dozens of the fireball bottles all around the campsite and along the roads into it. I am beginning to wonder if there is a “Fireball Cult”. I am also a road biker and love the banter about your repurposing options.
Sad that they are left in you state park. Nova says she envisions little gremlins running around at night guzzling Fireball and tossing the empties. We found one just yesterday in our driveway and we know it wasn’t ours that we dropped as there was still some alcohol in it. Thanks for reading and commenting.