Across Central Asia we’ve noticed that plastic bottles play an important role in everyday life once drained of their liquid contents. Here are a few uses we’ve witnessed.

1.  As a scooper for rice, spices, or any other scoop-able commodity in the old town street vendors. Witnessed: Tashkent Old Town, Uzbekistan

Plastic Bottle Scooper

2.  Cut in half and used as a vase for flowers. Witnessed: Almaty, Kazakhstan

3.  Used as a stopper for an automatic watering system. Witnesses, Tashkent, Timur Park, Uzbekistan.

Sprinkler System Water Bottle

4.  Snugly fit over a dripping air conditioner pipe to collect condensation. Witnessed: Old Town, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

5.  Cut in half, using the top half turned upside down as a mini green house for seeds to germinate. Witnessed, Almaty, Kazakhstan

6.  Cut into strips and painted to make noiseless wind chimes. Witnessed: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

7.  Cut off the bottom, then cut the remainder diagonally and use the top end as a handle, use the sharp diagonal opposing end to scrape gum off the street. Witnessed: Urumqi, Xinjiang

8.  Save bottles, strip labels and reuse when selling curded milk, yoghurt, pomegranate juice or other local favorites. Witnessed: Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Reused Bottles in Uzbekistan

9.  Cut the entire bottle away except the plastic screw-on lid and about an inch of plastic down from there. Turn upside down and use to hold toothpicks at the restaurant. Witnessed: Samarkand, Uzbekistan

10.  Cut off end of bottle neck, affix entire plump bottom end to long stick. Use stick with bottle taped to the end to smack on donkey’s ass to make him go faster. Louder than a stick but injures the animal less. Witnessed: Tashkurgan, Xinjiang

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