Not that we don’t love thinking of creative possibilities for reusing Power Supply food containers…we do. A handy holder for each color in your rare bead collection? A lightweight version of chain mail for your next jousting tournament? How about siding for your very own backyard greenhouse?But until construction of my container pontoon boat commences, we’ve found a good alternative for easy recycling of those tough little chow haulers (#5’s in recycling lingo, here’s a quick guide on the various types).

Program is called Gimme 5 and it’s from a nifty company called Preserve which makes all sorts of helpful products out of, you guessed it, recycled #5 plastics. Preserve partnered up with Whole Foods to put collection containers in easy reach so folks can send #5’s (various food containers, medicine bottles, brita filters, etc.) off to a productive second life as toothbrushes, plates or mixing bowls.

Easy as pie to do. I shove a couple weeks’ worth of meal containers in a shopping bag, head out for one of the local drop-off points and dump my cargo in an easy-to-spot Gimme 5 box located right as you walk in from the parking lot.

What if you don’t shop at Whole Foods regularly? Same question I had since we’re more of a Trader Joe’s plus some delivery services kind of household. But every now and again some recipe calls for an item Whole Foods is much more likely to have. So the odd visit for a key ingredient (star of anise anyone?) will line up fine with our occasional airdrop of #5’s.

Why not just recycle through my city/town’s program? Many municipalities round here take #5’s which is great, convenient and a good first step. Though what they do with them varies. At least some come to rest in far-flung places at the bottom of a burn pile. So your program may do great things with them, may not. Best bet is to ask. Either way, Gimme 5 gives you an easy option if you want to be sure those #5’s get put to sustainable use.

Give it a whirl and let us know how it goes. And if you’ve already built that front yard replica of Mount Vernon out of containers, please send pictures.