How to Recycle Packing Boxes
According to Brilliance Removalists Melbourne once you have moved into your new home, the removal men have left and you have unpacked all those boxes you will be glad to get them out of your home so you have room to move. But wait. How can you get rid of them? Even if you flatten them out they are going to fill up your recycling bin to the max for several weeks – if you can even fit them in. Rather than go to all the trouble of destroying those boxes and sending them to landfill, why not recycle them more usefully?
Even though cardboard boxes break down quickly in the environment, getting more use out of them is less wasteful and can help someone else as well as yourself. Here are some tips for re-purposing those packing boxes.
- Give them to others who are moving. A small ad in the paper or on a free noticeboard can take care of the problem of what to do with packing boxes after you have moved in. Other people will be glad to take them off your hands and they will get a second use. That is always better than disposing of them after just one use.
- Offer them to family members for storage, or to use if they are going to move soon.
- You may be able to use some for storage. A quick paint job, or letting the children paste pictures over the outside and some of those boxes can be used for toy-boxes, to store out of season clothing, to hold sporting equipment or even for small tools in the garage. If you have toddlers, they will love crawling through the boxes or hiding in them. Playing in a box can keep them occupied for ages. Older children will love an obstacle course in the yard made from boxes.
- If you have plans for lots of new gardens, unwanted cartons can be your friend. Flatten out the boxes and stack them over the area you plan on turning into a garden. Wet the cardboard so there are no gaps in it. Cover with manure and mulch and leave until it all rots down. The only digging you’ll have to do is to plant out those new plants.
Repurposing cardboard cartons is easy and a great way to help the environment. But what about all that bubble wrap and packaging? Newspapers can easily be used in the garden just like the cardboard. Bubble wrap should be taken to a recycling centre rather than placed into the yellow recycling bin as it can block up the recycling works from there.
However, it too, can be reused and you can offer it to others along with those cardboard boxes, keep it to use again yourself, or even make craft items out of it if you research the topic online.