How to Reuse Plastic Food Scoops: 10 Genius Ideas You Have to Try!

Sometimes Husband likes to add a scoop or two of protein powder to his pre or post workout smoothie. He works out in one form of another almost daily and goes though a container of protein powder like nobody’s business!

On the upside, I always have a supply of his empty plastic protein powder containers to hold just about everything that needs contained in the kitchen, my craft room, and garage.

On the downside, we have a mountain of leftover plastic scoops in a growing pile on the kitchen counter.

Pin this list for reference!

Our city doesn’t accept plastic food and laundry scoops in their recycling program. I finally had a light bulb moment on how to put those scoops to creative reuse one morning when I was trying to pour oatmeal out of its container without causing and oat avalanche.  I could put an empty scoop in the oatmeal container and solve both of my problems!

I’m embarrassed at how long it took me to have this epiphany since I put an old laundry scoop into my homemade laundry detergent container eons ago.

Oh well. Better late than never, right?
 

10 Ways to Reuse Plastic Scoops

Personally, I am leery of reusing plastic laundry detergent scoops for anything food related because I don’t know if it is made from food safe plastic or not. I typically use powdered food scoops for food related items and non food scoops (for example the scoop that comes in the container of oxygen bleach) for non food related tasks even though I give all of my scoops a good through wash before repurposing. Let your conscience be your guide on this one.

No matter what your reuse will be, it is a good idea to check how much the empty scoop holds before you repurpose it particularly if you are going to reuse it for something you normally measure like coffee grounds.

1. To measure homemade laundry detergent, washing soda, or other laundry additives. (Read the tutorial to make my DIY powdered laundry detergent here. It works in both regular and HE washing machines.)

2. In coffee, flour, oatmeal, and other dry good canisters. Some I use as a scoop to fill a measuring cup. Others I check the measurement and use it measure the item like coffee.

Also can anyone tell me why in the world do they sell kitchen canister sets in graduated sizes when all of the things you store in canisters come in the same size package? WHYYYYYYYYY?!


3. Use the smaller scoops to as loose tea scoop.


4. Check the measurement and use the plastic scoop as an extra measuring cup. We do this with our coffee.


5. Use a food grade plastic scoop for pet food.


6. Include a scoop with homemade mixes you give as gifts.


7.  Reuse a plastic laundry scoop to scoop potting soil out of its bag.


8. We keep a plastic scoop in the bucket of rock salt we keep in the garage.


9. Check the measurement and use the scoop to measure plant food.


10. Give it to your kids to use as sandbox, bath, or water table toys.


What do you do with old plastic scoops?

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