Instead of recycling recepticals for plastic bottles, a sort of bottle washing device should be placed in a public area with an attached water fountain to refill the clean bottles. There are numerous ways this can be designed, but basically an enclosed area that sterilizes the bottles with hot water would be most obvious.
-- rcarty, Jul 18 2013

Hot water melts the cheap plastic and deforms it.
-- xandram, Jul 18 2013


Boiling water forces the stretched blow molded plastic to return a bit toward the preform. It may also change the optical character making it cloudy. A peanut butter jar I boiled shrank so much the threads no longer held the lid on.

Maybe use radiation to kill / clean the bacteria, etc.
-- popbottle, Jul 18 2013


I have a vague notion that this is baked... perhaps it was just a water-bottle washing spigot in a park or watching somebody power-rinse a water-cooler bottle.
-- FlyingToaster, Jul 18 2013


What exactly are people doing with their plastic bottles that requires them to be heat-sterilized or irradiated before reuse?
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 18 2013


The idea is this would replace plastic bottle recycling recepticals in public areas, and the obvious reason you already know is the tendency for people to become brew vats for infections.
-- rcarty, Jul 18 2013


But- they say the plastic contains and/or acquires contaminants and bacteria, so it is not wise to use them more than 2 or 3 times - even if washed.
-- xandram, Jul 19 2013


hence //radiation //
-- 8th of 7, Jul 19 2013



random, halfbakery