Moving involves a huge waste of resources and produces a lot of residual waste – and packing materials are the main culprit for both. An enormous number of trees are cut down to make packing paper and packing boxes and tons of plastic, foam, and other non-degradable materials end up in the landfills after residential and business moves.
Most of those trees can be saved and most of this harmful trash can be avoided if people use green moving supplies for their packing needs. Cardboard boxes, styrofoam packing peanuts, and plastic bubble wrap can be easily replaced by eco-friendly alternatives that will minimize the negative impact of moving on the environment.
You can help protect nature and reduce unnecessary waste – as well as lower your relocation expenses – by using green packing materials for moving. Here are some eco-friendly packing solutions you can try when boxing up your belongings for your next relocation.
Green moving boxes
Since moving boxes are the packing supplies you’re going to need the most when preparing your items for shipment (you need about 10-15 small boxes, 8-10 medium-sized ones, and 5-6 large cartons to pack the contents of a single room), if you want to go green with your move, you need to use eco-friendly moving boxes.
Cardboard boxes are recyclable and bio-degradable, so they don’t create much waste and don’t cause much harm to the environment. Their manufacturing, however, is both wasteful and harmful – about 4 billion trees are cut down to make paper every year and paper production is quite an energy-requiring, water-intensive, and polluting industry.
Therefore, using brand new moving boxes is definitely not an eco-friendly way to pack – you need to find greener solutions:
1) Reuse cardboard boxes
Standard cardboard boxes can be used 5-10 times before they lose their integrity and need to be recycled. So, instead of purchasing new packing boxes for your move, be sure to re-use old ones in good condition:
- Keep the boxes of any items you buy in the months prior to your move (as well as all the shipping boxes that online orders arrive in);
- Ask friends, neighbors, and colleagues who have recently moved if they have leftover packing boxes they want to get rid of;
- Get empty cardboard boxes from local retail stores and businesses;
- Check websites like Freecycle and Craigslist to see if anyone in your area is offering used moving boxes for free;
- Order reusable boxes from sites like UsedCardboardBoxes.com (they take boxes rejected from the manufacturers because of minor flaws, inspect them, sort them out, and offer reusable ones at affordable prices);
- Look for packing boxes made of recycled materials.
Reusing old cardboard boxes will not only make your move greener, but will also help you save on packing supplies and reduce your final moving cost.
Related: How to get free moving boxes
2) Use plastic bins
Plastic bins are great eco-friendly alternatives to cardboard boxes – they’re made of recycled plastic and can be used hundreds of times.
Plastic packing boxes are quite durable, so they offer excellent protection to the items inside them, and stack easily and securely on top of each other, so they’re very convenient to use. Best of all, you don’t need to buy them – there are many companies that offer plastic containers for rent.
You can rent the number of boxes you need for your move and return them when you’re done or the company can drop the bins at your home and pick them up at your new location when you’re finished unpacking. It’s convenient, practical, and easily affordable.
Renting plastic moving boxes provides a safe, efficient, and eco-friendly way to pack and transport your belongings to your new home – and saves you the headache of disposing of packing materials after the move.
See also: Benefits of plastic moving boxes
3) Use the packing containers you have at home
There are many items in your home that can serve as efficient packing containers – suitcases, bags and totes, hampers and baskets, bins and buckets, crates and Tupperware, etc. Even drawers can be used as moving containers – you can leave lightweight, non-breakable items (like clothes, silverware, and office supplies, for example) in their drawers (dresser drawers, cupboard drawers, desk drawers, etc.) and move them as they are. (See also: How to pack drawers for moving)
Using the containers you already have at home as packing boxes will result in zero moving waste (you won’t need to dispose of them after the move) and won’t cost you anything at all.
Must-read: Packing supplies for moving you already own
Bonus tip: If you have items that can fit other things inside of them, use that to your advantage – pack some packs of spices, tea-strainers, salt-shakers, can openers, or other small kitchen items inside pots and pans; pack pajamas, underwear, stuffed toys and other small, lightweight items in pillow cases; etc. (See also: The Russian doll packing method)
Using old cardboard boxes, plastic bins, and your available containers as green packing boxes will almost eliminate your need for new moving boxes. If you still need to buy some new packing cartons, look for FSC-certified boxes, sourced from sustainably managed forests.
Biodegradable wrapping and cushioning materials
Unlike cardboard boxes, most wrapping and padding materials are not easily recycled – and many of them are not biodegradable either. So, if you’re looking for eco-friendly ways to move, it’s crucial that you replace harmful materials such as plastic and Styrofoam with biodegradable and recyclable alternatives.
Fortunately, nowadays, there are many innovative eco-friendly packing materials that use natural products and/or recycled products to reduce the harmful effects on the environment.
Here are some green packing options you may want to try instead of conventional plastic and foam packing materials:
- Geami paper – This 100 percent recyclable and biodegradable paper is the perfect eco-friendly wrapping material – it can be easily molded to fit any shape and provides excellent protection to fragile and delicate items;
- Corrugated bubble wrap – Bubble wrap is indispensable for protecting fragile items during a move, but instead of plastic bubble wrap, you can use the eco-friendly corrugated alternative. Corrugated bubble wrap is made of recycled corrugated cardboard, cut into small pieces and remanufactured into a protective material that is safe to the environment;
- Biodegradable packing peanuts – Biodegradable packing peanuts are made from wheat or corn starch. They provide great cushioning, decompose in water, and leave no toxic wastes behind – and they are less expensive than Styrofoam peanuts. What’s more, biodegradable peanuts don’t have electrostatic charge, so they’re great for packing items that are sensitive to static, such as electronic equipment;
- Mushroom packaging – Agricultural crop waste can be fused together by a matrix of mushroom roots, molded into different shapes, dried, and used for cushioning and padding. This mushroom packaging material is biodegradable and can be used as compost after the move.
Seaweed, bamboo, palm leaves, and various organic fabrics, such as hemp, flax, and recycled cotton, are also being more and more commonly used as alternative packing materials.
In case plant-based biomaterials are not an option, recycled paper and plastics offer viable environmentally friendly packing solutions.
Eco-friendly alternatives to traditional wrapping and padding materials
When looking for green packing solutions, you can come up with some creative eco-friendly ways to wrap and protect your belongings:
- Use old clothes, towels, sheets, and blankets to safely wrap your items for moving;
- Use muslin fabric, painter’s drop cloth, or other suitable protective covers – items that you will use after the move in your new home – instead of plastic covers for mattresses and upholstered furniture;
- Rip old magazines and newspapers into strips or ball them up to create extra padding for your belongings;
- Fill the empty spaces in your moving containers with shredded office paper;
- Place skeins or balls of yarn around or on top of the items in the packing boxes for additional cushioning;
- Use pea straw, small bags of popcorns, bagged goods like beans, rice, and lentils, and other pantry items to fill any remaining empty space in the moving boxes and prevent your belongings from shifting around during transit.
With so many easily affordable and easily available green packing supplies, it’s becoming easier and easier to go green with your move and help protect the environment. Do not hesitate to do so – use eco-friendly packing supplies for moving and take a step toward a greener future.
