Top 3 Most Eco-Friendly Packaging Materials

It's time to move, but you're not sure how to choose packing materials you can actually recycle. Maybe you want to ensure your move is as eco-friendly as possible, and the packaging materials have become a bit of an obstacle. Don't worry, there are plenty of options to use and you won't be left without a good way to pack up your belongings.

When you want to move in the most eco-friendly way possible, you need the right supplies. Here's a look at the top three most eco-friendly packaging materials you can use for your next move.

Start with What You Already Own

Most people forget about what they already have when they get ready to move. You probably own luggage, which can be packed with all kinds of items, just don't make it too heavy. You may also own other things, such as plastic crates and chests of drawers.

All of these items can be packed to carry some of your items to your new home. By using what you already have as moving boxes, you can eliminate your overall need for boxes.

In addition, you can also use what you own as packing supplies, such as towels, sheets, bedding, and clothing, which can all be used to cushion items. Pack your drawers with towels and lighter items to make them easy to carry. You can also pack luggage with bedding used to protect dishes or other items in need of protection. Get creative and use what you already have to eliminate your overall need for boxes and packing supplies.

Plastic Moving Boxes

One of the most eco-friendly packaging materials is plastic. Since it can be reused, it doesn't have to be wasted. While cardboard boxes can be recycled or potentially reused, they can also become damaged and no good for use or recycling.

With plastic moving boxes, you can rent the number of boxes you need for the move and return them when you're done. Not only do these boxes provide a very eco-friendly option, but they also ensure you won't have boxes sitting around your new home for weeks or months after moving in.

Biodegradable Bubble Wrap

Instead of just using regular bubble wrap, make sure you buy biodegradable bubble wrap. It's still made of plastic, but it's biodegradable making it less harmful for the environment.

Another alternative, made from recycled cardboard, offers a great solution for your packing needs. This packing material is used all throughout the Disney Theme Parks and it looks like a honeycomb paper with a second layer. It's excellent for protecting items and it can be recycled once you're done using it.

When you buy your packing supplies, getting anything biodegradable or recycled will make a big difference for your move. Regular bubble wrap and packing peanuts don't cut it any longer. Instead, you want to choose some type of biodegradable bubble wrap, preferably made from some type of reusable or recycled materials.

Whenever you need to move, it's time to consider your supplies. Make sure you choose the most eco-friendly items for your packing and moving.

The Benefits of Plastic Moving Boxes for Fragile Items

Moving can be rather stressful, especially if you're moving to a new city. Not only do you have to worry about if your things will arrive without harm, but you also have to get used to a new city.

You can take some of the worries out of the equation by choosing plastic moving boxes for your fragile items. While cardboard boxes may be the most common choice, plastic moving boxes offer a better alternative. Here's why you should always trust plastic moving boxes for fragile items.

Weather-Proof

Moving to Chicago means you could be faced with snow, rain, sleet, wind, and plenty of other weather. If it's wet outside, cardboard won't cut it. You'll end up with soggy boxes ready to break under the weight of the items inside.

Keeping cardboard boxes dry during a move is a bit of a full-time job. With some items, it may not be the end of the world, but with your fragile items, if the box breaks, your items will likely break, too.

Choosing plastic moving boxes for fragile items will help to ensure you're protected, no matter the water. Don't take any chances with these items when you can simply choose a better box for your fragile items.

Hold More Weight

Cardboard boxes have limits plastic boxes don't have. If you have fragile, heavy items, it's an easy decision to make. Getting plastic boxes will ensure your items remain well protected.

When you overpack a cardboard box, you could end up with a disaster on your hands. However, when you choose plastic boxes, you won't have to worry as much about the weight. These boxes hold much more weight and won't buckle under the pressure.

Easier to Stack Without Damage

If you don't stack your cardboard boxes properly, you could end up with fragile items getting smashed under the pressure of the box above. While it would make sense to pack fragile boxes with care, sometimes things get overlooked during the stress of a move.

Choosing plastic boxes for your move will ensure everything is fully protected. They easily stack on top of each other and stay in place. While cardboard boxes may slide around during the move, plastic boxes won't. This ensures your fragile items will remain protected, no matter where you put them in the stack.

Reusable

While this benefit doesn't impact your fragile items, it's still worth noting. When you use cardboard boxes for your move, you have to find a way to dispose of them. Hopefully, you recycle them, but these boxes often end up in the trash due to the stress of the move. In addition, if a cardboard box gets wet or something spills on it, you cannot recycle the box.

With plastic boxes, you get a sustainable, eco-friendly option because you rent these boxes and they are reusable. You don't have to worry about recycling them or even disposing of them. They will be picked up for you and used by the next person looking to move in a more eco-friendly way.

If you're preparing for an upcoming residential move to Chicago, you need to make sure you have the right boxes. Choosing plastic moving boxes is a better choice compared to cardboard, especially for fragile items. Contact The Chicago GreenBox today and order your Green Moving Boxes!

Make a Difference by Using Green Moving Boxes

Recycling your cardboard boxes after moving is good enough, right? You're still being eco-friendly and helping the environment, at least that's what you think.

You've seen the stats and you know that each ton of recycled cardboard and paper will save 17 trees, about 7,000 gallons of water and free up 3.5 cubic yards of landfill area. This is why you recycle your cardboard boxes after moving but are you really making the difference you think you're making?

Your Recycling Might Not be Recycled Anymore

Due to changes in China, as detailed in this article from The New York Times, when you recycle cardboard, plastic, and paper, it may still be going to the landfill. Since China no longer accepts "foreign garbage" and a large portion of recycled materials from the U.S. were sent to China for processing, your cardboard boxes from moving may end up in a landfill, even if you put them in the recycling bin.

Not All Cardboard can be Recycled

In addition to the fact that your recycling may end up in a landfill, not all cardboard can be recycled. If it gets wet or has something spilled on it, you may not be able to recycle it. This means if you move and it rains or snows on the day of your move, you may end up with boxes that have to go in the garbage, not the recycling.

Just because you plan to recycle cardboard moving boxes after your move doesn't mean you're moving in the most eco-friendly way. Not to mention, the process to manufacture cardboard moving boxes isn't even close to environmentally-friendly.

Manufacturing Cardboard

When cardboard is created, every step of the process produces hazardous gasses. These gasses are sent out into the air every single day. While recycling cardboard has helped to eliminate about half of these gasses, not using cardboard at all will eliminate even more.

Manufacturing companies are starting to look at the way they create cardboard to emit less of these gasses. However, they are not the only ones that have to do their part. When you move, you don't have to use cardboard boxes. You can choose green moving boxes made to be reused instead of recycled or thrown away.

Why Choose Green Moving Boxes?

When you use cardboard, you risk ending up with boxes you cannot recycle. In addition, a wet box could lead to damaged items. With green moving boxes, you don't have to worry about rain or snow, as they won't be weakened by moisture.

Green moving boxes are produced once and used hundreds, if not thousands of times before needing to be replaced. A cardboard box is only used once for moving, and then either tossed in the trash or in the recycling, which may end up in the trash, anyway.

If you want to move in an eco-friendly way, don't think that recycling your cardboard boxes is enough. While it may seem friendly to the environment, you may not be able to recycle all your boxes and your recycling may end up in a landfill, anyway.

Instead, choose green moving boxes to ensure you move in the most eco-friendly way possible. These boxes don't get recycled because they get reused. They are rigid and will better protect your belongings, along with better protecting the environment.

How Plastic Boxes Improve the Packing Process for a Move

When you're ready to move, even if it's just across town, the right boxes make a difference. Traditional cardboard boxes collapse under too much weight, become worthless if they get wet and could be crushed. Do you really want to deal with those issues during your move?

Plastic boxes provide a better choice and they will actually improve the packing process for your move. In addition to improving the packing process, plastic boxes improve the overall moving experience. Here are some of the ways your move will be improved by using plastic boxes.

No Assembly

When you choose cardboard boxes, you have to assemble them with tape to use them. Plastic boxes come assembled and ready to be used. You don't need tape or anything else to put them together.

Delivery and Pickup Available

With cardboard boxes, you have to go find them, purchase them, pack them, move and disposed of them. Why go through that process when you can simply rent plastic moving boxes, have them delivered, and then have them picked up when you’re done with the boxes?

Stackable, Both Empty and Full

While cardboard boxes may lay flat before you assemble them, once they are assembled, they will take up quite a bit of space. They are also not as easily stackable as plastic boxes because they will slide around during the move.

With plastic boxes, you can nest them when they are empty, which means one will fit right inside the other. You won't have to worry about a bunch of assembled cardboard boxes getting in your way. Simply have one stack of plastic boxes in one area and get a new one when you're ready for it.

In addition, when you actually move, the boxes are made to sit inside the top of each other. They have a ridge in the design so they won't slide off the top during the move.

Easier to Reopen

If you pack a cardboard box and you tape it up, it's a pain to reopen it for an item you forgot to pack inside. Plastic boxes don't cause this hassle. You can easily reopen them, pack the item, and close it back up.

Avoid Moving with Unwanted Pets

Did you know that termites, beetles, silverfish, and roaches all love cardboard boxes? You could end up moving with these pests if you use cardboard. With plastic boxes, you don't have to worry because these pests won't eat plastic!

No Water Damage

Accidentally set that cardboard box in water and you'll wish you weren't moving. The box will fall apart and you may break something. At the very least, the box will need to be repacked.

With plastic boxes, you don't have to worry. They cannot be damaged by water in the way cardboard can, which helps to keep your items much safer.

When it's time to move, you want to make sure you get the right boxes. Plastic boxes will help to improve the packing process and the rest of your moving process, as well.

How Much can You Pack in Plastic Moving Boxes?

Moving can be stressful. However, when you choose to move with plastic moving boxes, you will not have to deal with broken cardboard boxes, taping everything up, and the assembly of the boxes. You will also lose out on the worry of what will happen if a box gets wet.

Plastic moving boxes certainly make it easier to move, but how many do you really need? Unlike cardboard, the sides won't really bend or expand to accommodate your items. However, this is a good thing. If you over pack a cardboard box, you could end up with a disaster on your hands.

Choosing to move with plastic boxes could make it a bit tricky to choose how many boxes you need. Typically, you can get quite a bit in one box, but you will need several for any type of move. In fact, the minimum order is 20 boxes because it's necessary to have this many boxes to move a studio apartment, in most cases.

Why a Minimum of 20 Boxes?

One of the reasons you need at least 20 plastic boxes for your move is the size. Plastic boxes aren't as large as the largest cardboard boxes for moving. However, this isn't a bad thing.

Large cardboard boxes can easily be over packed and become too heavy. This can lead to injury when moving, a broken box or another type of issues you simply don't want to deal with on moving day. With plastic boxes, there's less chance of injury and they certainly won't break.

The smaller size, however, does mean you will need more boxes. An order of 20 boxes will usually be enough for an average studio apartment. If you're moving a larger apartment, condo or home, you will need more boxes.

How Many Plastic Moving Boxes for an Apartment?

The number of plastic moving boxes you will need to move an apartment depends on the size. If you have a traditional one-bedroom apartment, you will likely be able to move all your things with 30 boxes. However, a two bedroom apartment will require 45 boxes and you will likely need 60 boxes for a three bedroom apartment.

The number could vary a bit, too. If you use the second bedroom as a home office and you have more items than a typical bedroom may hold, you may need more than 45 boxes. If you don't use the second bedroom anymore because your roommate moved out and it's just empty, you may not need as many boxes.

How Many Plastic Moving Boxes for a House?

Moving a house is a completely different ballgame compared to an apartment. Most apartments don't have the same amount of storage as a house and most won't have a garage. The number of plastic moving boxes you will need to move a house completely depends on the house.

If it's a small two-bedroom home, you may be fine with 45 moving boxes. However, if it's a large four-bedroom home, you may need 80 or more boxes. In addition, if you have a garage, basement or another storage area filled with things, you may need even more plastic moving boxes.

What's the Size of a Plastic Moving Box?

The typical plastic moving boxes will be 27 inches long with a depth of 17 inches and a height of 12 inches. This isn’t a huge box, but it's large enough to make moving easy. Any bigger and the boxes could get very heavy making it harder on you and your movers.

Consider the size of the box, along with the size of your home, apartment, or condo. Then, place your order for the right amount of boxes with a minimum of 20. It's better to order a few more than you think you need, just in case than not enough because you're trying to save a few dollars.