Peanut butter containers may be sturdier, if smaller? Cooking oil bottles. If restaurants use oil in large bottles (not cans) they may give you the empties?

I never priced it but I have seen a water "pitcher" that was designed to be space saving in the fridge. It's a flat rectangle with a spigot, skinny but tall. Maybe just what you need to fit into small space? I think Rubbermaid makes it, but I've seen it in several stores.