Why recycle good moving boxes back into good moving boxes?

(October 2008)

It cannot be avoided, to move house you will need cardboard boxes. According to land registry figures 123,293 properties where sold in June 2007 and with the average house using over 30 boxes in a move, that's over 3.5 million boxes in one month, over 3.5 thousand tonne's of cardboard.

Approx 17 trees are needed to produce one tonne of cardboard, although most cardboard today is made from recycled paper/cardboard this has its own environmental impact. A large proportion of the paper and cardboard we send to be recycled is actually shipped abroad most notably to China to be recycled into boxes that are generally shipped back to the west.

But a solution to reduce the environmental impact of moving house is the brain child of www.eco-boxes.co.uk an internet based moving box supplier to the moving public and removal companies alike. "We have always asked customers to pass the boxes on after using them." says Andrew Scholey of eco-boxes "We became aware that so often this just wasn't possible. Boxes that could be used again ended up at the local recycling depot to be turned back into boxes. This is a bizarre scenario, recycling for recycling sake."

What eco-boxes have put in place is a system where by you can purchase any number of eco moving packs. Each one contains a selection of boxes 16 in total oxo bio-degradable bubble wrap and the latest in non toxic parcel tape. A marker pen which is made from recycled products is to be added shortly. If you require other items not included in the eco moving packs, each customer will also receive a 10% off voucher for www.helpineedboxes.co.uk when the order is placed. Each pack of which you can buy any number includes delivery to your home or work and this is the special bit. When you have finished with the boxes they will collect them from you* all you have to do is place the boxes back into the protective bag they arrived in.

What about the boxes I don't unpack or store in the loft or garage? "We don't need all the boxes back." explains Andrew "As long as they bundled together similar to how they arrived we don't mind". So if you bought 3 eco moving packs you can send back one, two or all three it's not a problem. The bubble wrap can be composted and the marker pen used elsewhere, just flatten the boxes, bag them up and eco-boxes will collect.

What happens to my used moving boxes? When the arrive back to eco-boxes depot they are checked and sorted. If they are reusable then they will be used in another eco moving pack otherwise they will be shredded to be made into packaging.

"We have always taken our responsibility as a company seriously, planting trees to offset carbon emissions for over 3 years now and sourcing products as locally as possible. This is a another way we can make a small difference but if it results in less industrial processes, saving water, electricity and landfill we feel that it is an opportunity that we cannot pass up."

So if you are moving house and worried about the environment or even what you are going to do with all the empty boxes after the move then have a look at eco-boxes.co.uk and give yourself one less thing to worry about.

*Excludes some parts of Scotland.