Eco-Friendly Packing Materials
Green Packaging Alternatives Are Better for the Environment
Sep 10, 2009
When packing possessions for moving, mailing gifts during the holidays, or shipping commercial products, materials used for packing and shipping generate waste that often ends up in trash bins and landfills. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that, in 2007, containers and packaging made up nearly 30.9% of municipal waste, only about one-third of which was recycled.
Two of the worst environmental offenders when it comes to packaging waste are products made from polyethelene, like bubble wrap and packing tape, and package fillers made from styrafoam, like packing peanuts. Many community recycling centers are not equipped to handle these products. But new green alternatives to polyethelene bubble wrap and styrafoam packing peanuts can reduce waste.
Eco-Friendly Bubble Wrap
Bubble wrap is sometimes made from recycled polyethelene, for example. An even more eco-friendly, alternative to bubble wrap, however, is a biodegradable version made from layers of crimped paper or cardboard. Green versions of padded mailers are now made with these bubble wrap alternatives, for safely shipping small objects.
Biodegradable Packing Peanuts
Packing peanuts are also available in biodegradable and compostable versions made from cornstarch. These peanuts dissolve in water. Both eco bubble wrap and packing peanuts are available from office supply stores, moving and truck rental companies and specialty packaging suppliers. Another eco-friendly alternative to packing peanuts, as suggested by Ellen Sandbeck in her guide to sustainable living, Green Housekeeping,: use plain air-popped popcorn instead of styrafoam packaging.
Natural Rubber Packing Tape
Natural rubber is used to make all sorts of things. Made from the rubber tree, a renewable resource, natural rubber is biodegradable, unlike packing tape made from polyethelene. This more eco-friendly packing tape, useful for sealing cartons and boxes, is also available from office supply stores.
Reducing and Reusing Materials
Before buying those eco-friendly packing materials, thinking creatively about what packing materials are already available is an even more environmentally friendly way to pack. The following tips are new uses for discarded or ordinary items:
- Shredded junk mail and other papers. Densely packed, these materials make good box fillers.
- Plastic shopping bags are not very green, but using them, crumpled up, as extra padding in a box before recycling them is.
- Dish towels, hand towels, bath towels and other fabrics can provide protective wrappings for breakables as well.
- Instead of packing pillows and blankets in a separate box, save space and packing materials by using them to cushion electronics or other fragile items from knicks, scratches or being jostled around inside a box.
- Provide extra protection for smaller breakables by nestling them inside other items. Place wrapped glassware inside a plastic food storage containers or pots.
- Rather than buying plain white newsprint, just use old newspapers that are headed for the recycling bin.
- Use old sheets, or buy reusable quilted furniture pads, or use a reusable tarp, instead of buying disposable plastic mattress bags and furniture covers.
Reusing household items as packing materials is one of the simplest green moving tips. And when buying new packing materials, choosing more eco-friendly packaging is a really easy for consumers to make a difference by helping to keep trash out of landfills.
Sources
- "Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2007" U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report: Available: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw07-fs.pdf
 |
