While visiting Alex from EcoRate one night for dinner with friends, I picked up a few cardboard boxes, mailers, and packaging from him. He had saved it from various packages he received in the mail. I was able to reuse that packing material to ship several things.
To de-clutter at home, I periodically sell items I don’t need anymore on eBay. I sent an old Raiders jersey and a Bluetooth speaker using the old mailers and boxes. I was also able to ship a guitar and amplifier that I had learned on when I was a kid to my younger cousin who is just now starting to learn guitar as well – talk about reusing! He was able to reuse the guitar and amp that I sent him, in addition to the packaging that Alex and others have given me. It really is this simple to reuse your packaging. If you are selling things online, ask around to see if your friends have some old mailers from online orders. Chances are that they will, and in addition to being a sustainability win, it will also save you time and money since you don’t have to buy packaging.
How to Save a Mailer or Box for Reuse
A few quick notes from the editor and mailer-provider (Alex Morgan). In order to reuse a box or mailer you receive, you have to open it without destroying it. This is pretty easy for a box but it can be a little trickier for a mailer. Most mailers are not designed for reuse, but with just a moment of care when opening one, you can usually leave it in-tact enough to be reused and save yourself the trouble of having to go to the post office to get one in the future. If there’s a “pull here” tab that can ironically be a bad way to open a mailer since those will sometimes tear the mailer apart. Instead, if the glue isn’t too strong, try to peel the flap off of the body of the mailer.
Remember to Remove Previous Addresses
It’s important to remove previous addresses before reusing packaging materials. This can be as easy as placing a new postage sticker directly on top of the old one. This avoids confusion when re-shipping things, and also hides the old addresses from the new receiver.
How Much Does Reusing Mailers Save?
Anytime you reuse a primarily single-use item a second time, you spread the environmental impact of its creation and disposal over two uses instead of just one. That means you cut the per-use environmental costs in half. Not bad for taking two seconds to open a mailer a little more carefully! Packaging that is sturdy enough to withstand the stresses of being shipped once is almost always study enough to be reused over and over. A box doesn’t disintegrate when you open it.
Reusing mailers and boxes also saves money. Since the first sender pays the full cost of the packaging, if you reuse a mailer that you or a friend received in the mail, your packaging cost is zero. Think of it as an instant 100% rebate. That’s a nice incentive for an easy eco-tip.
Guest Author Edward Forgacs
