For several years we've been Costco members. We mostly purchase food items from them, especially prepared meals sealed in vacuum bags and also packaged in sturdy black plastic trays that have no lids. I've been using the trays as desk drawer office supply holders (the trays are the right size for pens, paper clips, little note pads, etc.), but I now have accumulated way more of these trays than I need. If I still created water colors I could use some of the trays for rinsing paint brushes, I guess, but I no longer paint.
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Perhaps you could donate some of your trays to your local schools for students to use in their art class or to nursing homes to use for the elderly to make of in activities. Also to church's at VBS time. Children are making things and could possibly use them.
You can use them for winter sowing seeds. Cover with plastic and make some vents.
Maybe a senior center can use them as paint trays or for crafting!
These items make a great drainage system for plants that you water in your home. You can sit the plants in them and when watered the tray will collect the excess water. I would also use the trays to start new plants with. You can also grow small herb gardens in your kitecne in you use two trays.
How about petitioning Costco to use less plastic :-)
YES!!! This is the answer!!! I vote for this one! I do this all the time--write letters and send emails to companies asking them to reduce their plastic uses and have packaging with less impact on our world. Sadly most either never respond, or I get the form, "thank you for you comment" message. I think if the more people expressed this request, and showed they are serious by buying less at these stores, they would get the message. We have significantly reduced shopping at places that we feel are poor environmental stewards. Sadly we can't eliminate it completely because some are places that we need to go for prescriptions.
As an aside and to answer your immediate question--There is a very small resale market for these items...I found one sold listing for people selling a lot of 4 13 3/4" x 10 1/2" (on eBay) for 16.99 which included SELLER paying shipping.
Thanks to everyone for responding - when I was a girl, we could return glass bottles to beverage companies for sterilizing, refilling and reselling - as an incentive in those days, some bottlers paid for each bottle returned. I wish we could return trays, glass bottles, etc. to sellers nowadays for reusing them.
I remember that....taking bottles back to the store and getting a penny or so back. We used to do this as children--hunt through weeds in vacant lots to find "strays", wash them out and take them to the grocer.
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