x24,Top3,TopLeft,x25,x12
transportation footprint quiz promo graphic photo
a discovery company

Green Your Move: Use Recyclable, Reusable Packing Supplies

Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA

Jasmin Malik Chua

By Jasmin Malik Chua
Jersey City, NJ, USA | Sun Mar 23 17:21:00 GMT 2008

Okay sport, you've pared down your possessions to a more manageable number. It's time to start boxing things up. The last thing the eco-conscious mover wants to do, of course, is purchase brand-new cardboard boxes, Styrofoam peanuts, and plastic bubble wrap. Here are some of our suggestions for thinking, if you'll forgive the pun, outside the box:

1. Hoard boxes and mailers beforehand: You're a smart cookie-if you know that a move is imminent, it makes perfect sense to hang on to every sizable carton that comes you way at home or in the office. Used padded envelopes and mailers, as well as those plastic air pillows online booksellers seem so fond of, can also provide extra cushioning for delicate items.

Other less-conventional materials you can use for padding fragile belongings: Used plastic bags, crushed-up wads of newspaper (watch out for newsprint ink), and egg cartons, as well as old blankets and towels.2. Troll for boxes: Your local liquor, grocery, hardware, dry goods store will be more than happy to hand over large cardboard boxes that they would otherwise pay to dump or recycle. Call the managers of the stores beforehand so they can set aside the boxes for you, rather than waste time and car emissions driving from door to door, only to be disappointed.

3. Rent moving crates: A number of moving companies, such as the Continental Moving Company, Earth-Friendly Moving, and Rent-a-Crate lease out reusable plastic moving crates. Crushproof and stackable, the crates get picked up by the moving company as soon as you've moved in, so you don't have the hassle of breaking down boxes and figuring out whether to trash them or store them for later use.

Check your newspaper classifieds and local yellow pages for crate-rental companies-or let your fingers do the walking online.

Difficulty level: Easy

 
  • email
  • digg
  • share
  • print
helpful article? vote for it
{ }
close window

CLOSE X

 

comments on this article

view all post a comment

 
 

from our partners

 
 
 
facebook twitter rss
 
Planet Green on Facebook
 
Reel Impact
 
Less is More Thanksgiving
 
Green Materials Guide
 
Take a Quiz. Enter Our Sweepstakes!
 

tv schedule

view all

On Now

On Tonight

 
 

today on planet green

view all

Votes

recent
discussed

Show Off Before You Give: Submit Your Best DIY Holiday Gifts
POSTED  5 HOURS AGO.  COMMENTS

{ }

Vote for the Best Agent of Change in the BBC World Challenge '09
POSTED  6 HOURS AGO.  COMMENTS

{ }

Emeril's Poblano Chili Stew
POSTED  6 HOURS AGO.  COMMENTS

{ }

Emeril Green Episode: Feel the Heat
POSTED  7 HOURS AGO.  COMMENTS

{ }

Reverb Wants to Bring Fans on the Biodiesel Bus (Adam Gardner Interview)
POSTED  7 HOURS AGO.  COMMENTS

{ }

Ask Emeril Your Green Cooking Questions
POSTED  7 Apr 2009. 48 COMMENTS.

{477}

How To Go Green: Lighting
POSTED  23 Jul 2008. 7 COMMENTS.

{214}

Should You Get a Flu Shot?
POSTED  1 Oct 2009. 3 COMMENTS.

{19}

Renovation Nation FAQ
POSTED  7 May 2009. 13 COMMENTS.

{142}

Do Zoos and Captive Breeding Really Help Endangered Species or Address Habitat Loss?
POSTED  23 Oct 2009. 4 COMMENTS.

{28}

 

Ads by Google