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I avoid buying plastic products. Plastics contribute to the degradation of the world’s oceans, harm wildlife, and threaten human health. But in certain situations, I think that durable plastics can actually be the better alternative to biodegradable materials like cardboard. No, I didn’t suddenly take a job lobbying for the American Chemistry Council. Rather, I was contacted by Spencer Brown of Rent-a-Green Box, who manufactures and delivers recycled plastic moving boxes that save trees by replacing disposable cardboard.
Rent-a-Green Box recently won a 2009 California Small Business Award for “exceptional climate change management practices and climate change communication.”
(Source: Spencer Brown, Rent-a-Green Box)
While it’s true that in my case, I generally dumpster dive for used boxes (and I have a pile of them stored in the attic for my next move), most people don’t or won’t, instead opting for new cardboard boxes which can only be used a few times before they must be discarded. In the best case, they are recycled, which requires large amounts of energy and water. In most cases, however, they are landfilled. What’s more, packing tape (usually plastic) is required to seal cardboard boxes. Not so with plastic bins, which require no extra materials to close and can be packed hundreds of times and further recycled at the end of their useful lives. While I never recommend plastic for disposable packaging or food contact, moving boxes are one use for plastic I can get behind.
Rent-a-Green Box, based in Southern California, picks up the boxes at the end of your move (provided the move is within Los Angeles County or Orange County.) And the company has plans to expand nationwide within the next three years.
Rent-a-Green Box will find they have competition when expanding into the San Francisco Bay Area or greater Seattle and Vancouver areas. At the San Francisco Green Festival last year, I met Ash Sud whose company ZippGo is already providing recycled plastic moving boxes here in the Bay Area.
And in Seattle and Vancouver, Frog Box is providing a similar service, delivering and picking up reusable plastic boxes to replace cardboard.
(Source: Doug Burgoyne, Frog Box)
Don't have a green moving box company near you? All three of these companies are looking to expand and would love to hear from you. Contact them via their web sites to let them know you'd like a similar service in your area.
Comparing the Green Moving Box Companies
Recycled Plastic
Rent-a-Green Box: Spencer Brown is a recycler. It’s his passion. He mines landfills for plastic bottles, plastic caps, and even the disposable plastic baby diapers that most recyclers won’t touch. In addition to his Recopak plastic boxes, he recycles bottle caps into Reco-Zip zip ties (which can then be returned to him for recycling into new zip ties), and those used diapers into Poopy Pallets, which enable the plastic boxes to be easily loaded on and off the truck. (The diapers have been sanitized prior to recycling.)
ZippGo: ZippGo also provides certified recycled plastic boxes, which the company sources from an outside manufacturer.
Frog Box: Frog Boxes are made from virgin plastic. Doug Burgoyne, owner of Frog Box, explained that he feels boxes made from new plastic will last longer than those from recycled plastic. The company has been in business since April of 2008, and thus far the only broken box was damaged by a forklift. And he is negotiating with local recyclers to find a way to take back and recycle the boxes if and when they do wear out.
What’s your opinion about recycled vs. new moving boxes?
Recycled Paper & Aluminum:
All three companies provide packing materials made from recycled paper.
Geami replaces bubble wrap for protecting breakables. The Rent-a-Green Box truck is equipped with a machine for manufacturing the Geami as needed right at the customer’s location. ZippGo drops off rolls of Geami along with its green boxes. Frog Box does not provide Geami, opting for other solutions.
