We get quite a few Amazon deliveries every few weeks and have almost a room full of various sized boxes. Have given some away to friends with cats and kids. Just wondering if anyone has any good ideas or ecological ways of re-using them?
What Does Everyone Do with All Their Cardboard Boxes & Packaging Material?
highon2str on 16/09/2021 - 12:14
Last edited 16/09/2021 - 12:35
Last edited 16/09/2021 - 12:35
Poll Options
- 5Flatten them into Storage
- 21Re-purpose them (post how below)
- 138Straight into the Bin/Recycling
Comments
This is a great idea!! 👍
Put it in the recycling bin but usually keep some of the larger Amazon boxes to throw junk in for council collection day.
I find Amazon boxes good for storing and re-use when moving out.
How often are you moving out?
Very rare was useful moving out from university accommodation before covid hit as I didn't have nearest bunnings near me.
There are companies that leet you rent boxes and the collect them.
I found the idea discusting, so we purchased boxes. They didn't want to collect their own new boxes after we were done with them.
We only stored office supplies.
We use them as drawing material for our daughter- cut it into sections it she just draws on the thing as a whole.
Leftovers we just squash them as much as possible and constantly have a full recycling bin.
If you’re the parent that Tetris packs the car boot for family trips (pre COVID) as I am, then you’re quite good at strategically fitting in many squashed recyclables into your binI keep them as packaging when I randomly sell stuff on ebay.
Most go to the recycling bin, but I reuse some as postage boxes when sending stuff out
I'm currently building a fort
I rip the uncoated cardboard up into small pieces and it goes into the compost.
I also use uncoated cardboard as weed suppressant in new gardens and cover it with bark and mulch.
Coated cardboard just goes into the recycle bin now, I used to keep big sheets to lie on when working under the car but getting too old for that now.
How do we tell uncoated from coated cardboard? Are Amazon boxes coated?
Coated has a smooth shiny surface and has product pictures and product information (usually in colour) on it
Uncoated is usually rougher to touch, Brown, and free from most advertising, printing etc.
Amazon boxes I get are uncoated. YMMV
What a comprehensive and patient explanation.
Hat's off, sir.
Just re: working under the car, I use something like this one: https://www.kmart.com.au/product/folding-fitness-mat/818303
Much more comfortable and less of a clearance issue when trying to get under.
I cut them up and put them in the recycling bin. I use a Makita multi cutter, almost makes it fun.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/makita-12v-cxt-max-multi-cutter-…
I run a small home based we biz so i re-use them :)
Storage, if in the future, flatten then and stack them. If you get a lot of big ones you can consider selling them for $2-$3 for movers, sell them in lot though. For shipping, you can split them to smaller box if too big. For those resell things, you can even prepared the item inside the box to reduce boxes and faster shipping Cut them smaller pieces for padding for shipping. You can also shred them for garden composting or use as mulch.
I'll occasionally reuse one to send something but 99% of them go straight to recycling.
Seems from the poll that it's a common option for a few people!
Do you take off the tape if it comes with the plastic tape?
Everyone seems to use paper tape these days so haven't had to but you don't need to remove tape anyway unless it's loose in which case I assume it can be a tangle issue for the machines.
Ah some of the bulky items get shipped on their own boxes, always wondered if I needed to get all the tape off since it's plastic.
I break them down and save them for various mates who've started hipster crafts businesses.
Save them for bonfire night.
But that does not have poll options
i know and this thread has an extensive list of options in the poll.
Isn't that one asking about the product box rather than post box?
If you have a bunch, put them up on Facebook, you'll help people move.
Supermarkets must throw out tonnes of cardboard so I don't think there is any point in feeling guilty about the relatively small amounts that we as individuals use.
They should have reuse those boxes for their online shopping. My online shoppings always in their reusable plastics and now I have lots of those
ikea and costco for customers in-store instead of plastic bags
Right now my kitchen seating area is filled with a box fort made up of a BBQ, washing machine and several amazon boxes
If they arrive in good condition, I keep them for when moving.
Sometimes reuse for postage packaging, sometimes for storage but lots end up in the recycling bin
What do people do with the gel based cool packs?
Or those little bags of silica balls?
Those we reuse in shoe boxes or winter/summer clothes we put in storage.
I store the bags of desiccant together with our 3D printer filament
I usually keep the larger boxes to use as mats when I work on my car, helps sliding on concrete slightly more bearable.
I use them for storage. I have many spare rooms and tons of junk.
Boxes for Dvds, boxes for CDs, boxes I quickly throw junk in because friends are coming over. Stick them in a room, shut the door and problem solved 😁
Since Amazon started "saving the environment" by reducing the material used I have noticed the boxes are very flimsy and I tend to throw them out more…
FYI, if you want a big giant box that's decent for storing spare clothes etc…order the 30 pack of Quilton toilet paper or 2 × 20 pack of 500ml Mt Franklin water. Always get really good sized boxes when I order these items..
I think same with mostly everyone, throw out 90% of the boxes and reuse some for packaging or bins, etc.
How do you seal the boxes after you've used them as bins? I prefer not to use sticky tape :)
The big brain idea would be to keep it and then use it sell stuff on Ebay.
shred to make bedding for rabbits.
Burn them.
This. I burn it in my fire pit over a weekend and sit outside enjoying the fresh air.
I am in a regional area rather than metro.
We're halfway through packing up our house for moving and I'd been saving most delivery boxes for the 18 months in anticipation. And actually.. I kinda regret saving so many.
The oldest ones are generally a thicker cardboard, well shaped to pack multiple items and with not much variety in size. These have been good.
But most of the ones since the pandemic really got going are much thinner, designed to hold a single item and can't support having more than a couple of other boxes on top before they collapse. There is a much broader variety of sizes - so stacking is a pain, and almost all are really wide but not very high (like a monopoly box) - which is a really awkward shape to carry. After a few days of trying to use these ones, I took the whole lot of them to a recycling center and bought a bunch of cheap second-hand boxes from a moving company instead.
I shred them and use them as garden mulch
I use the non-toxic boxes as a layer below mulch for weed control. For example I take a patch of garden, gently lift it with a pitch fork, layer on some compost then layers of over lapping cardboard, then mulch. To plant I cut into the cardboard. This normally functions as an excellent weed barrier for about a year.
The other use is as the carbon component in composting as others have mentioned above. Also works pretty well as the top barrier on a worm farm if you don't have access to hessian bags.
Any coated cardboard goes in the recycling bin.
Remind me of a UK youtuber put cardboard directly to weed/grass to where they want to plant, then put soil/compost (or just compost?) directly on top then start planting.
Yeah that's the traditional way, but I like it the other way as otherwise it can act as a root barrier for the plants you actually want to grow
These are all really good ideas. I keep some small - medium size sturdy in car boot for any supermarket shopping and also to keep in case I need to put anything in the boot. Stops it rattling around if it's in one of these boxes. Others I use to fill with donations (clothing, kitchen items etc) when we do regular spring cleaning of cupboards. For 6 people, we have waaay too much stuff so regular 'moving on' of things fill boxes in no time.
Cockroaches LOVE cardboard boxes, so instead of saving them up I'd flatten and recycle bin them or use them up as bins instead of bags
when you use them as bins, do you seal up before throwing out? What do you seal them with? I prefer not to use sticky tape. :)
I mean recycling stuff. I'll put cartons and paper stuff in them and take it all out and flatten it periodically.
ok no worries. :)
The big ones I cut then flatten them. I use them for protecting the floor from oils during car service. I keep the good condition boxes repurpose them for eBay sold items. The rest goes in the recycle bin.
Sell them on Facebook marketplace, I advertised mine for half of what I paid and had so many people wanting to buy them.
Mix of recycle, moving (when were needed), and take to work to send stuff.
Recycle them or use for storage.
I use them as kitchen bins for dry stuff since there's no more free plastic bags. Nappy bins as well. The good big clean ones I use to store baby clothes.