It’s well known that moving often involves using a lot of packing materials. This can ultimately lead to a great deal of waste and garbage that ends up in the landfill after you’re done moving. Do you want to play a part in stopping all this waste from sitting in our landfills? Try using environmentally friendly packing materials during your move. We’re here to help you find the best options for reusable, recyclable, and biodegradable packing supplies.
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Why Go Eco-Friendly
You may be asking yourself, why should I go eco-friendly? There are so many benefits to going environmentally friendly, especially when it comes to packing materials. Such benefits include:
- Reduces the release of harmful toxins that are in non-recyclable packaging.
- Decreases the amount of material ending up in landfills each year.
- Reduces the carbon footprint by using materials that draw carbon from the environment instead of releasing it.
Reusable Packing Supplies
Reusable packing supplies are handy because they’re more than just a one-time use. They also allow you to save money and be prepared for future moves.
Plastic Bins
One of the most common reusable packing options is plastic bins and totes. Most people choose this option because plastic bins are very sturdy, often waterproof, and have easy-to-carry handles.
Another positive to buying totes is they’re relatively inexpensive. At your local Home Depot, you can buy a wide range of plastic bin sizes which range anywhere from $10 for the smaller sizes to $35 for the extra-large sizes. They also offer options for you to buy totes in bulk for a cheaper price per tote.
After your move, you can easily stack them and store your plastic bins for future use.
Household Containers
When looking for environmentally friendly packing materials, people often overlook the simple items they already have at home. Using household containers can give you free packing containers and allow you to utilize all the free space available during your move.
Household items you could use as moving containers include furniture with drawers, pots, plastic storage containers, suitcases, and other storage-like items. The one downside is these items don’t often hold much so you will probably still need to buy some additional storage.
Recyclable Packaging
Another form of environmentally friendly packing materials is recyclable packaging. These can include both the purchased recyclable packaging you use for your move and the items you already own that can easily be recycled after your move.
Clothing and Bedding
Clothing and bedding materials are the perfect recyclable packaging to wrap delicate items in. By doing so you will save space since these items will already be going to your new home.
Another option is using old clothing and bedding to keep your delicate items safe. This is a great option if you don’t feel comfortable or safe using your clean fabrics for packing materials. You can even go a step further and make these fabrics into cleaning rags for your new house after you move in!
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Newspaper
Newspaper is another great recyclable packaging option. This is a common household item you may have around your house. If you don’t personally have any, it’s also an easy thing to ask around for.
Once you’re done with your move, newspaper is very easy to dispose of. All you have to do is put it in the recycling bin!
Furniture Pads
Furniture pads are used to safely move your furniture around during a move. They’re very good at both protecting your furniture and preventing unnecessary scrapes on your floors and walls. Recycled furniture pads allow you to keep your items safe while repurposing fabric materials.
One company that uses recycled furniture pads is U-Haul. They collaborated with their furniture pad vendor and Lee Jeans Co. to make recycled furniture pads out of denim scraps. The company prides itself in the fact that this invention, “Allows the annual diversion of 2.4 million pounds of recyclable materials from landfills.”
Moving Boxes
Cardboard moving boxes are another great environmentally friendly packing material you can use. The key to this is to avoid buying new boxes. While it’s possible to buy cardboard boxes on Amazon or even at your local Walmart, there are many other cheaper and more eco-friendly options.
Some good places to ask for free boxes are grocery stores, retail stores, and thrift stores. These places often get shipments of supplies delivered to them in cardboard boxes. Most of the time these boxes just end up in the recycling bin, so employees often let you take them for free if you ask.
The nice thing about using cardboard moving boxes is they’re easy to assemble and break down. If you don’t need them right away, you can simply break them down and store them. All you will need is a little packing tape to put them back together. After you’re done using them you can simply put them in the recycling bin.
Biodegradable Packing Supplies
Biodegradable packing supplies are what people typically think of first when looking for environmentally friendly packing materials. These are items that break down naturally over time. The downside to using biodegradable options is you typically have to purchase them. It’s rare to just come across these items for free.
Packing Peanuts
Buying biodegradable packing peanuts is a super easy way to be more eco-friendly. Traditional packing peanuts are made of styrofoam which takes a long time to decompose naturally. On the other hand, biodegradable packing peanuts decompose rather quickly. They’re made of wheat and starch and completely dissolve in water or they can even be thrown in your compost bin.
Biodegradable packing peanuts have gotten a lot more popular in the last few years. You can easily buy 45 gallons of packing peanuts on Amazon for around $35. This biodegradable option has gained so much attention in the last few years that it’s getting harder to find traditional packing peanuts.
Honeycomb Packing Paper
This alternative for bubble wrap is another popular environmentally friendly packing material. While this may sound different than traditional bubble wrap, it has the same purpose.
Honeycomb packing paper is a 3D-style paper used to protect your breakable items. It effectively absorbs shock impacts, prevents surface abrasions, and will never deflate. Additionally, it’s made of 100% recyclable material.
This option is also not as expensive as you may think. You can buy a 12” W x 200’ L roll of honeycomb packing paper on Amazon for less than $20.
Biodegradable and Paper Tape
Another way to be more environmentally friendly is to forgo using traditional tape. Normal tape is made of plastics that cannot be recycled or easily decomposed. Instead, you can use biodegradable or paper-based tape.
Biodegradable is not very common in the United States quite yet, but it’s an eco-friendly option you should try! The main type you can purchase is called Cellulose tape. This is a transparent tape made from biodegradable materials which easily decompose. You can buy a 3 pack of Cellulose tape on Amazon for around $14.
A more common option is using paper tape. Tape made of paper is often referred to as water-activated tape or WAT. To activate the tape, you simply add water to the adhesive strip. Like biodegradable tape, paper tape is fairly inexpensive. You can buy a 3 pack of WAT paper tape on Amazon for around $14.
Places to Get Eco-Friendly Packing Supplies
There are many places to buy environmentally friendly packing materials. While we have talked a lot about what Amazon offers, here are some other places you can buy from.
- Uline sells paper sheets, starch foam sheets, starch peanuts, and more.
- Paper Mart sells honeycomb paper, paper tape, biodegradable packing peanuts, and more.
- Eco Packable sells recycled paper rolls, honeycomb paper, paper tape, and more.
One Trip is Better Than Two
Besides using environmentally friendly packing materials, you can also avoid releasing unnecessary greenhouse gases. Every time you drive your car carbon dioxide is released into the air. This is one of the most common forms of greenhouse gases.
Moving into your new home can involve a lot of driving back and forth. You can be more eco-friendly by making fewer trips during your move. Choosing a moving vehicle that is large enough to move all your items in one trip is the easiest way to do this. Doing this also saves you the stress of having to pack your moving truck multiple times.
Eco-Friendly Moving Companies
If you’re trying to be more eco-friendly during your move you want to find an eco-friendly moving company. While there are many options out there, here are a few companies that can help you with your move.
North Star Moving Company
North Star Moving Company is based in Arizona, California, and Texas but can move your items from those states to anywhere. They offer local, national, and international moves. This full-service company offers moving, delivering, storage, and packing services.
The company offers a variety of environmentally friendly packing materials. All their boxes are made from 100% recyclable material. You can buy these boxes from the company and sell them back for 25% of your money back! They also offer eco-bubble wrap, recyclable packaging paper, paper tape, blankets, and more.
Gentle Giant Moving Company
Gentle Giant Moving Company is a full-service moving company with locations all over the United States. They offer moving services, storage options, and packing options. Whether you’re moving locally or across the country, they have you covered.
The company is very environmentally friendly for both its moving and storage options. They use biodegradable foam peanuts, reuse their moving boxes, sell them at discounted rates, and more. They’re also working to make all their buildings solar-powered and are slowly switching over to hybrid-powered vehicles.
Arthur Werner Moving and Storage
Arthur Werner Moving and Storage is another full-service company that also offers storage options. They have locations in New York and Connecticut but will also move people interstate. The company offers local and long-distance moves as well as short and long-term storage.
To be eco-friendly the company uses reusable moving totes. These totes are available whether you have the company pack for you or if you want to pack yourself. Once you’re done moving, they take the boxes back and clean them so they can be used again by other customers. The company also encourages its customers to use biodegradable packing materials instead of plastic-based materials.
UniMovers
UniMovers is a great option if you want to still be eco-friendly but don’t need a full-service moving company. They are a labor-only moving company that will help you with the heavy lifting side of moving. They have locations in Iowa, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.
By hiring a labor-only moving company, you’re in charge of packing your items and providing transportation. This allows you to be eco-friendly throughout your move. You get to decide which packing materials you use and you can also choose to use an environmentally friendly moving vehicle.
Saving Money
Using environmentally friendly packing materials has become a lot more common in the last few years. This has made the cost of such materials go down as more companies have started to make them. Most of the materials are now around the prices of traditional packing supplies.
You can also potentially save money while being eco-friendly. Using recycled items you already have at home such as newspapers and old clothing cuts down on the cost of buying packing material. Additionally, getting free cardboard boxes from stores provides you with free movable storage.
Conclusion
Going eco-friendly during your move is an easy task that can make a big difference. It’s as simple as using reusable packing supplies such as plastic bins and household containers to store your items during your move. Along with using recyclable packaging such as newspaper, old clothing, and recycled furniture pads to keep your items safe.
Making the change to biodegradable materials such as natural packing peanuts, honeycomb wrapping paper, and paper tape can also positively impact the environment. These simple changes during your move can help keep items out of our landfills.
Team up with eco-friendly moving companies who will help you out during your environmentally friendly move. Whether you need full-service moving help or labor-only services, there are companies out there for you. Help do your part and keep our environment healthy by choosing an eco-friendly move.
Jessica is a students at the University of Northern Iowa. She is majoring in English Education with a creative writing minor. In her free time she loves to read books of every genre, write short stories, and spend time with friends. In the future she hopes to share her love for reading and writing with her future students.
