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?

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[–] 57 points 1 year ago (9 children)

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.

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  • [–] 25 points 1 year 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.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    I keep napalm for starting fires at home and camp. Can't be beat!

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    I love burning down my home for a little excitement on the weekend!

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year 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.

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  • [–] 43 points 1 year 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.

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  • [–] 24 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year 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. 👍🏻

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  • [–] 39 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Soundproof your sex dungeon?

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  • [–] 25 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    That is a ridiculous suggestion. Clearly OP has already soundproofed their sex dungeon and wants to know how to use them next.

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  • [–] 18 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Yes or just flog them on Ebay/marketplace etc

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  • [–] 14 points 1 year ago

    Homemade flammable gel.

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago

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

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago (1 child)
  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I agree with contacting local charities (kitchens, food banks, etc) and see if they can use them.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year 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.

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  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago

    Everyone is out here telling you to sell them for $x meanwhile I'd suggest just giving them away for free to anyone willing to pick em up. No compromises.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago

    Make a cool boat

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year 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

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  • [+] 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)
  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    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.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    Home igloo?

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    Make a raft

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    Put meals in them and give them to the unhoused?

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago

    As someone with cystic fibrosis, I've got the same problem but once a month. So much packaging. And then if you need a port for two weeks? Here's your lifetime supply of materials.

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  • You could keep them to pack your own food into encase of a power outage. I assume this nest together so they wouldn't take up much room.

    Likely not something you will do but I found this interesting: There is an electronics business in the UK who bought a machine to break up styrofoam into small bit. They also have a steady supply of the stuff. They paid for the machine by selling the styrofoam as blown-in insulation.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    organ harvesting

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Can we convert Styrofoam into something you can sell? Maybe you can injection mould it somehow and sell figurines?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    You can use them as incubators for little plants in the spring to keep them warm at night if you’re in a cold place. Or if you want a fun project build a cloud chamber and watch particles move.

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