Reuse and Recycle Packaging and Paper

Are Delivery Boxes Piling Up?

As many people around the world are staying home right now due to COVID-19, the amount of deliveries that are arriving in boxes to people’s homes and businesses has increased substantially. As a large number of people are relying on deliveries right now, cardboard boxes and packaging materials are making their way around the world to the front doorsteps of millions of people. But what happens after your deliveries are made and you have endless boxes and packaging materials to dispose of? Here’s everything you should know on how to recycle packaging, paper, and boxes!

Recycling Corrugated and Cardboard Boxes

In the packaging industry, we refer to what many people call cardboard shipping boxes as corrugated boxes. The difference between the two is basically in how the box is made and how many layers of corrugated material it is constructed with. All you need to know is that cardboard and corrugated boxes are some of the easiest materials out there to recycle. All you have to do is break down your boxes, place them in your recycle bin or take them to a recycling facility in your area. 

When cardboard is recycled, it actually produces 50% less sulfur dioxide than it does when making cardboard from raw materials. By recycling and reusing cardboard materials, you’ll be helping our environment by reusing materials and making a sustainable choice by recycling. In fact, paper and cardboard are recycled more than any other material in the US and make up 75% of packaging materials that get recycled.

Source: https://www.howlifeunfolds.com/resource-stewardship/do-you-know-these-facts-about-paper

Cardboard can also be used in compost and will break down to be used for mulch in your garden. Even wet cardboard can come in handy for use in compost instead of throwing it away.

Source: https://www.moving.com/tips/how-to-recycle-cardboard-moving-boxes/

How to Recycle other Packaging Items

Everything from packing peanuts and molded cardboard inserts can come inside of the boxes being delivered to your door. Here is a list of packaging materials and how to dispose of each of them:

Molded Cardboard Inserts: These molded pieces that hold items within a box when shipping can be recycled in your normal recycling bins alongside cardboard boxes.

Packing Peanuts: Sometimes you can recycle these with your distributor or with the manufacturer, but most of the time, they’ll need to go in the trash and can’t be re-used.

Bubble Wrap and Foam: Sometimes, post offices or shipping facilities will accept clean plastic shipping materials but unfortunately, most of the time these items will need to go in the trash. Be sure though to let the air out of plastic pillow sheets or bubble wrap before throwing them away to save space in the bin.

Tissue Paper: Most of the time, tissue paper can be re-used by composting it and using it after it breaks down within a compost bin.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKADKNDc50A

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Last week was the 50th Earth Day celebration. We are proud to help our customers source and provide sustainable products for their business. Not only do we provide recycled products but products that reduce waste and make your businesses more efficient overall. If you need help finding the right Earth first products for your business, we are happy to help, just give us a call.